Climate change and urban pollution are two of the biggest talking points at this moment in time, particularly within the tourism industry. Whether it is international or domestic, tourism naturally promotes travel and this can have an abject impact on the current climate crisis. Whether it is using planes to explore new countries or large buses to discover new cities, it cannot be denied that the tourism industry needs to work towards more sustainable modes of transportation.

This transition can come in many different forms, from large airlines offering to offset their carbon emissions or small & local businesses trying to come up with something a little bit greener. That is the attitude taken up by ScooTours.

ScooTours have created the first-ever electric scooter tours in the U.K and it is their aim to develop a sustainable company that promotes more eco-friendly forms of micro-mobility to explore urban areas.

ScooTours’s journey began back in 2018, when they initially wanted to create a new and exciting way of seeing London. At this time, there were plenty of walking tours, bus tours and bike trips on offer. Therefore, they set about offering the first ever kick scooters tours around the city. Then, in 2020, ScooTours grew to include guided tours on a variety of micro mobility options that included electric scooters and electric bikes.

ScooTours believe electric vehicles can provide an incredible tour experience. They are fun, quick and unique to the streets of London.

Electric Scooters in the U.K.

At the time of writing this article, U.K. legislation bans the use of privately owned electric scooters on public roads. However, electric scooters can be used via a government approved rental scheme. Electric scooters were rolled out in numerous trial cities throughout the U.K. in the summer of 2020. All of these electric scooters are provided by app-based rental companies, such as Dott, Voi, Spin, Lime or tier. These trials took place in several cities such as Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester.

ScooTours initially partnered with Spin to provide electric scooter tours of Milton Keynes and with Voi to run electric scooter tours of Cambridge.

Then, in 2021 electric scooters were launched in various boroughs within London. ScooTours partnered with Dott to provide the first-ever legal electric scooter tours of the capital. Currently, ScooTours are running traditional sightseeing tours, such as our “City of London” tour and more quirky tours, such as our “HIdden London” tour. Both of which will appeal to locals, domestic travellers and international tourists.

ScooTours believes their tours provide a unique experience and can have a positive impact on urban transportation within London and the environment. Electric scooters are the future, not just for tourism, but also general use by the city's population. However, there are several criticisms of them at the moment. ScooTours understands that there are two things needed to promote electric scooters in the capital and for them to become more widely accepted by using ScooTours.

Responsible Users

The most important thing for the development of electric scooters in London is to foster an atmosphere whereby they are used responsibly and safely.

Many people have concerns about how and where they will be ridden. The rental scheme has tackled many issues from the beginning, by setting certain requirements/restrictions; you must be over 18 years old, you must be in possession of a valid driving license, you can only use scooters in certain areas, there is a 12.5mph cap to tie in with the current 15mph national speed limit for e-scooters and many more.

ScooTours have specifically designed their tours to create good scooter users, by simply beginning all of the tours with a safety tutorial and overview of the current U.K. rules & regulations on electric vehicles. Currently, many participants first time e-scooter users, so there is a real necessity to provide an opportunity for all of ScooTours’s clients to use an electric scooter in a safe and controlled environment.

This approach will foster responsible and considerate scooter users.

Changes to Infrastructure

The greatest impact on London and other urban areas will come when electric scooter use becomes more common. With the increase in electric scooter popularity, ScooTours hopes to not only see more and more responsible users, but also nurture this movement. Through this, electric scooters will become a more normalised and recognised form of transportation. When this happens, London will adjust and evolve around this new form of micro-mobility.

London already has a decent level of cycling infrastructure, however there is room for improvement! If more & more people turn to various forms of micro-mobility the more our roads and infrastructure will change - this can be the use of regular bikes, electric bikes or electric scooters.

The more people who turn to various forms of micro-mobility will ultimately help to develop good, safe infrastructure for those vehicles. The more normal it becomes, the greater their positive impact on our urban areas will be.

Overall, the Capital is currently an overly congested and polluted area due to the high volume of traffic. Now that electric scooters have hit the streets of London, they have potential to transform the Capital! Overall, new forms of micro-mobility have the power to revolutionise urban transportation and create greener cities. The team at ScooTours wants to help with this transition! They want to help London and other urban areas become more environmentally friendly and adapt to be more micro-mobility friendly. It might take time, but ScooTours vision and tours are a great way of promoting electric scooter use and creating responsible users.

So remember, electric scooters have the potential to be the future of tourism and general urban transportation!

Why Electric Vehicles (EV's) are here to stay