Initially 100 scooters have been made available for residents in Milton Keynes
The Ford-owned micro-mobility unit is working closely with the UK city’s council to roll out its fleet responsibly and said public safety is the top priority.
Spin, the micro-mobility arm of Ford Motor Company, has announced its first UK local trial of its e-scooters for public hire in Milton Keynes.
This marks the company’s first market in the context of the recently legalised e-scooter trials taking place across the UK.
Initially 100 scooters have been made available for residents to use with the aim of ramping the fleet up to around 300 scooters on the streets by mid-September.
Public education events
Spin said it is working closely with Milton Keynes Council to roll out its fleet responsibly, with public safety being the top priority. The company has held a series of public education events for Milton Keynes residents to come out and learn more about how to ride safely. Spin plans to hold several additional safety and public engagement events in the next several weeks to raise awareness and ensure full compliance with local and national rules.
To take a trip, riders download the Spin App on their smartphone, review a comprehensive set of rules and safety guidelines, and then start their trip for £0.25 per minute (with no unlock fee, which normally costs £1 per ride). The scooters can be used on the town’s redways, which provide the local community with convenient connectivity across the town.
The company also offers all riders access Spin Safe Digital, an online learning resource that teaches riders how to start and end trips properly, parking techniques to ensure walkways are free of scooter clutter, and safe riding practices during Covid-19. Riders receive a £5 discount if they take an online quiz testing them on the rules.
“We’re excited to bring the first of our UK e-scooter fleets to Milton Keynes and had a highly-encouraging response from local riders at our Spin Safe events. This is the first of many e-scooter trials across the UK as part of our firm commitment to fully integrate e-scooters into local transportation ecosystems,” said Felix Petersen, head of Europe at Spin.
“We hope to responsibly fulfil the need UK residents have for this new transport mode as an accessible, inexpensive and greener alternative to cars and public transport.”
Spin has also applied for several other tenders for the local trials in order to expand the company’s presence in the UK including west of England, Oxford, Solent and Canterbury.
Seeking to become “carbon negative” by 2025, Spin also views the Milton Keynes trial as an opportunity to implement some of its forward-thinking environmental and sustainability goals including utilising Ford’s Transit plug-in electric hybrid vehicles to collect and recharge its e-scooter fleet over using diesel vans.
Originally published by
SmartCitiesWorld news team | August 24, 2020
SmartCitiesWorld
