After a successful initial trial period, Neuron and Newcastle City Council have agreed to extend their e-scooter agreement for a further 18 months – news that has received a mixed reception from Jesmond residents.

On 1st December, it was announced that the e-scooter trial would be renewed, after a recent report that showed that e-scooters could bring in £8.9 million to Newcastle’s local economy.

The next 18 months will bring in some important changes in order to improve the efficiency of the e-scooters, including the introduction of concession passes for low-income riders, and designated parking spots in the city centre and Jesmond.

Councillor Jayne Byrne, cabinet member for the connected, clean city at Newcastle City Council, said: “It’s great to see that many people are benefiting from the opportunity to use the e-scooters as a convenient way to get around – and importantly as an alternative to making a journey by car.

“I’m pleased that we’ve been able to work together with Neuron so that residents, including those on lower incomes, can continue to use the e-scooters while also putting in place arrangements to help improve the way the scooters are integrated into the city’s transport mix.”

The biggest change that will follow the e-scooters in Jesmond is the arrival of the new compulsory designated parking spots. Many residents had concerns about the way scooters were left “abandoned outside”, but new requirements mean that this should no longer be a problem.

The parking model has been developed in consultation with the Council and the partially sighted community, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Thomas Pocklington Trust. It should hopefully lead to fewer scooters being left lying on the road, which some residents feared was starting to become a serious safety hazard.

Residents felt that the e-scooters are generally useful in terms of sustainable travel – particularly in terms of lowering traffic pollution and noise levels. “They are a good option for students, who rarely have space in the flat for bikes and should be discouraged from bringing cars to their student homes when most of their travel is local to and from campus,” said Jennie Steele.

However, they are not as popular with students as some may think. Louis Deekes, a third-year student at Northumbria University, studying quantity surveying, said, “I don’t see many students using them – it’s mainly older people, and they usually bump into you when you are walking into uni. The price isn’t that much cheaper than the Metro and I don’t know where I would leave it, so for the sake of convenience, I tend to get the Metro”.

Tanya Pretswell, Labour councillor for North Jesmond, agreed with Byrne that they were a good green alternative to car use, particularly for students.

“Newcastle as a whole has some great public transport links, and the e-scooters are another valuable option, for both students and people getting to and from their workplaces,” Pretswell said.

Jesmond residents have had two meetings chaired by Councillor Pretswell where Cormac Quinn, the regional manager for Neuron Mobility UK & Ireland, was in attendance, where they were free to raise any concerns and suggestions for improvement regarding the e-scooter trial. Feedback has included specific adaptations to the helmet and improvements to the designated parking bays.

The trial extension means that Neuron scooters will be in Jesmond for the foreseeable future. Despite some initial teething problems, they seem relatively popular amongst residents and are essential in making Jesmond a greener suburb.