Did you know that electric scooters are banned in many areas of London? For this reason, TfL has implemented geofencing technology which causes scooters to suddenly stop when they enter a prohibited area. And if the idea of ​​a zooming scooter suddenly stopping sounds dangerous to you, you’re right. TfL now wants to relax some of these rules to prevent users from being injured by their electric scooter slowing down unexpectedly.

TfL said 15% of all e-scooter journeys were affected by geofencing technology, which causes power to be reduced or the motor to stop once in a controlled area. But the transport authority said ‘go slow’ and ‘no-go’ zones have now been reduced across the city.

Transportation to London was deploying electric scooters throughout the city since 2021 as part of a nationwide trial. London currently has a fleet of 4,830 scooters, operated by LimeDott and Tier, which are limited to a maximum speed of 12.5 mph. But the trial has not yet determined whether they should be expanded further.

E-scooters are still banned in many places, including the Royal Parks, South Bank and around St Paul’s Cathedral.

Helen Sharp, head of TfL’s e-scooter trials, said safety was “at the heart of our e-scooter trial, with London having high safety standards”.

“Recently, in collaboration with the districts and participating operators, we reduced the number of slow and prohibited traffic zones in the test zone, in order to improve the user experience without affecting those who do not use the service,” she said.

ICYMI: This area of ​​London is next to crack down on Lime bikes.

More: Could these big London parks soon impose strict speed limits on cyclists?

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