Town councillor demands ban on all hired e-scooters and bikes in his part of Milton Keynes
A town councillor fed up of seeing abandoned e-scooters and bikes littering the streets is demanding that the machines be banned completely in his area.
Paul Bartlett is a member of Stony Stratford Town Council and also an Alderman of the city after his years of service on MK Council.
He is this week asking that Stony Stratford seeks a ban on all hired escooter and bike usage in the parish until more safety legislation is introduced.
Cllr Bartlett is concerned that the distinctive electric hire scooters and bikes are continuing to be carelessly, and often dangerously, abandoned by users despite the introduction of mandatory parking areas early this year.
And he also questions whether the easy-hire option is making the population of Milton Keynes less fit by encouraging them to ride instead of walk.
“The whole thing is a desperate sham encouraged and promoted by our City Council,” he declared.
The outspoken councillor told the Citizen: “I have seen no evidence that e scooters in particular, are encouraging good health. In a city with huge levels of obesity, why is MKCC wanting more people to get no exercise,,, by even walking to and from a bus stop? Perhaps MKCC and the NHS have information to show I am wrong? If they do, they should provide it.”
He added: “No information is being made available on an increase in private cycling and of course, e bikes are about as beneficial to personal fitness and well being as drinking too much alcohol.”
The town councillor is partiuclarly worried about the number of hired Lime, Dott and Bolt machines left strewn on paths and redways after riders have completed their journeys.
In January Milton Keynes City Council transitioned the hire scheme from a free-floating system to Mandatory Parking Zones (MPZs), saying people must now end their rental in a designated bay or rack shown in the operator apps to avoid extra charges.
But, according to Cllr Bartlett, this is being largely ignored – and will never prove effective unless tighter controls are introduced.
"It does not matter how many official parking bays exist if no one is checking the behaviour of users,” he said,
"Any bike and e scooter not parked in a legal space should result to an immediate penalty to the Operators' of £1000 per said vehicle. It is then the decision of the Operators' to seek recompense from the hirer. If a vehicle is left by a child, the parents or Guardian or if under LA care, should receive a further penalty of £500.
"No appeal... simply pay up or face action which could mean monies from wages or benefits. If a vehicle is left abandoned or misused by anyone with a driving licence of any status, penalty points should be issued...if this means asking for a change in legislation, so be it.
"Further, if official parking bays are installed, each parish should receive at least £500 per space per bike and e scooter. Why should a private company benefit from the public realm being used by them to make money? For each failure, a further £1000 per bike space should be paid per space.”
Cllr Barlett also fears the hire machines are being misused, saying: “There is no information about the number of people who have been banned and I have never witnessed anyone from Lime, Dott and Bolt stop riders to check their ID and to question their riding skills and ask why there are two people and more on one escooter and why a primary school child is using an e-scooter.”
He is urging that each operator should be contracted to have a zero tolerance to poor e-scooter and e-bike behaviour, including use of parking areas, and they should provide quarterly, checkable records to MKCC and each parish council.