Why e-scooters divide a city after five years

They've been a part of Liverpool life for five years, but as the city council prepares to extend an e-scooter hire scheme, how do people in the city feel about the coral pink vehicles?

E-scooters were introduced for people in Liverpool to hire in 2020, as part of a Department for Transport pilot to provide alternatives to public transport during the pandemic as well as trialling low-carbon ways to travel.

The pilot scheme in Liverpool has been extended to 2026, and is currently operated by a company called Voi.

The city council is looking to extend the scheme across the whole city, and possibly allow people to hire scooters around the clock. At the moment, they can be rented between the hours of 06:00 GMT and 00:00.

Plans are expected to be approved this week, but the scooters divide opinion in the city.

Tour guide Richard MacDonald told BBC Politics North West scooters were a great way to travel to work and to see the city in a different way.

He said: "I tend to use them when I need to get somewhere quickly and other forms of transport have let me down."

He added he welcomed any extension to the scheme's operating hours.

"On a Sunday morning, if there's a cruise ship in and I have to get there nice and early to give those tourists a fabulous day out in Liverpool, I'd use an e-scooter for that journey."

He said there was always a danger the public could misuse e-scooters but they were proven to be safe if ridden correctly.

"They are geo-fenced so there are places where you can't ride them," he said, adding the scooters automatically slowed down in certain areas.

It's not just the Voi scooters which are a regular feature on Liverpool's roads though.

Other types of e-scooters are becoming increasingly popular, but there's a hitch - it's illegal to ride a privately owned scooter on public land, a fact many people don't realise.

"I think the illegal ones are giving the legal ones a bad press," Mr MacDonald said.

"They aren't regulated, the batteries can cause fires, you're not insured on them. The legal ones you have to sign up with your driving licence."

It's an issue Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell is aware of.

"What we are seeing is people buying scooters which are not part of the pilot scheme in Liverpool, and thinking they can use them the same way, but that's not what the legislation says," she said.

"Any other type of scooter which is not owned by Voi cannot be ridden on public land."

She added: "I think there is some education to be done - private scooters can only be used on private land."

Voi and the police were working closely on the issues around the misuse of hiring scooters Ms Spurrell said, adding the police would continue to advise people using illegal e-scooters not to use them in public areas.

However, the e-scooter pilot has not been welcomed by everyone in Liverpool.

Naomi Ditchfield, from Anfield, is visually impaired and said she and her guide dog Dottie loathe e-scooters.

"You can't hear them coming, to me they seem very fast and even when they are behind you, the drivers don't ring a bell or make a noise," she said.

She added the inconsiderate way some users left them once they had finished riding was frustrating.

"I think people need to be made more aware of how to use them and park them properly," she said.

"Sometimes people leave them parked across the tactile paving that me and other visually impaired people with a cane or guide dog is meant to cross."

She said Dottie, her black Labrador, had often had to navigate scooters parked inconsiderately on the pavement.

Sadly, the extra traffic on the streets and pavements has put the pair off visiting the city centre.

"I used to be in town all the time, but it's got too stressful," Ms Ditchfield said.

• For more on this watch BBC Politics North West on iPlayer.

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