Shared micromobility

Our session on shared micromobility brought together operators, local authorities and social enterprises to discuss bike shares, e-scooters and accessibility.

Helen Sharp and Julia Cass from TfL discussed the shared e-scooter trials taking place across the capital, including their work to increase the area that e-scooters can operate in and to increase parking provision so that users can end their trips in convenient locations. They have seen a 50% growth in trips from 2024 to 2025, and are preparing for the expected regulations and guidance associated with the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

Jim Blakemore, Co-founder and CEO of Bikeworks, shared his experience of bespoke e-scooter training, increasing peoples’ familiarity, confidence and ability to handle e-scooters. The training starts in a safe off-road environment and then moves onto the road for the last stages, building peoples’ ability to handle real world riding situations.

Will Airey, Consultancy and Research Officer at CoMoUK, shared CoMoUK’s groundbreaking new work on the return on investment of shared bike and e-scooter schemes. The work is based on metrics across 12 UK cities and finds that shared bike and e-scooter schemes return 3x the financial value of the costs invested in them in the first year, rising to 5x in subsequent years. The work is currently being shared with stakeholders for feedback, but will eventually be available to local authorities for use in business cases.

Harry Foskin, Public Policy Manager at Voi, spoke about the need for legislation on e-scooters to unlock investment in the UK. The e-scooter trials are soon to enter their seventh year. This temporary way of operating stops cities from integrating as much as they’d like to and limits investment from operators. In Oslo, by contrast, 65% of Voi journeys are combined with public transport. Legislation is needed to unlock value for individuals, society and the economy.

Together, these speakers showed the extraordinary return on investment of shared e-bike and e-scooter schemes across the UK, and the need for legislation to give operators and local authorities the ability to move forwards.