Electric scooters will return to the streets of Nottingham for the first time in nearly 18 months, when Dott bring around 1,300 e-scooters to the city this Spring.
Micromobility in the city has been solely in the hands of Lime’s e-bikes since Superpedestrian, the company that operated Nottingham’s e-scooter hire scheme, closed down its UK operation in December 2023.
Since the e-scooter trial began in 2020, more than 3.1 million rides have been made with more than 4.5 million miles have been travelled. The e-scooter trial is due to end in May 2026.
Dott’s 1,300 e-scooters will be available to hire from around 300 parking locations across the city. The council say they have learned ‘key lessons’ around parking from previous e-scooter trials and the original e-scooter parking spots have been audited and reviewed, and those not meeting the council’s parking criteria will not be reactivated in the new scheme.
Furthermore, ahead of the return of the scooters Nottingham accessed the Transforming Cities fund to install 275 racks for e-scooters (and e-bikes) to help improve parking.
The e-scooters will have no unlock fee and and will cost 29p per minute to ride, with a variety of pass options also available. Discounts will be offered to groups such as NHS workers, people on low incomes, and students.
Dott will provide education and training options for first-time riders, including a mandatory onboarding quiz, tutorials on the app, a beginner’s mode (reducing vehicle speed for the first three rides), and regular in-person training events led by trained experts.
Riders found breaking the rules will be given fines.
The e-scooters will be fitted with technology to prevent them operating outside the city’s boundaries and to allow the council to create ‘low speed’ or ‘no go’ zones.
Nottingham City Council Leader and Executive Member for Strategic Regeneration, Transport and Communications, Councillor Neghat Khan said: ‘We are thrilled that e-scooters are returning to Nottingham, providing a convenient, sustainable, and affordable transport option. By offering an alternative to car journeys, e-scooters will play a key role in easing congestion and lowering harmful emissions in our city. This aligns with our commitment to improving air quality and promoting greener travel for all our residents and visitors.’
Peadar Golden, UK General Manager at Dott said: ‘We are very excited to work with Nottingham City Council to provide another efficient and sustainable transport solution to get people out of their cars. As a responsible operator, Dott is bringing its experience from more than 400 cities to ensure its service is carefully integrated into the city, offering safety and reliability for riders together with orderly streets for pedestrians.’