E-scooter legalisation urgently needed, open letter warns PM

The government must use the forthcoming King’s Speech to finally legalise e-scooters, an open letter to the Prime Minister has warned.

The UK remains the only European country yet to legalise e-scooters, despite repeated government commitments to do so ‘when parliamentary time allows’. The letter, which was organised by CoMoUK, calls for urgent legislation creating a new powered light vehicle class, granting e-scooters and other e-mobility devices legal access to public roads.

Currently, the only legal way to ride an e-scooter on public roads is through trial schemes in England, launched in 2020 and now extended until May 2028. By September 2025, those trials had recorded 71.7 million trips by 22.7 million users.

The open letter, organised by Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK) and signed by operators including Lime, Voi and Bolt, warns that ‘endless trials’ are leaving operators and local authorities “stuck in limbo” and holding back economic growth.

Legalisation would establish standard technical and safety requirements for all e-scooters, resolve problems caused by unregulated private devices being ridden illegally, drive investment, and help the UK meet its net zero and air quality targets. It would also deliver public health benefits.

The government has previously committed to legalisation, most recently in its Better Connected transport strategy published in April, but has yet to act. Transport and environmental organisations, along with local councillors, have also backed the letter.

Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK, said: ‘The UK stands alone in Europe by failing to legalise e-scooters, and these continuing delays directly contradict the government’s own goals for integrated transport.

‘We know from the trials that shared e-scooters are a key part of the system in the areas where they operate, with 44 per cent of users combining rides with public transport.

‘There is a huge opportunity for integration with local bus services and Great British Railways, but this potential simply cannot be realised under current legislation.

‘The government has already committed to acting on this, which is welcome, but it is time to end the delays and provide the clarity and direction that the public, local authorities and operators so desperately need.’