E-scooters will 'inevitably' be part of transport in Scotland's future, transport secretary Fiona Hyslop has told The Scotsman. She did, however say that public opinion was “quite polarised” and there were “genuine safety issues”.
She also said one of her chief concerns was the impact of e-scooters on pedestrians and cyclists. “When you're looking at a shared space, we want to encourage people to do more walking and cycling, and whether that's compromised by an electric scooter - that's a danger.”
E-scooter trials have been taking place in the UK since 2020 and the government recently announced an extension to May 2026. None are taking place in Scotland however, meaning the vehicles cannot legally be ridden at all on Scottish roads.
Currently, privately-owned e-scooters can only be ridden on private land in the UK with the landowner's permission. In 2022, the government announced that the vehicles would be made legal through the creation of a low-speed, zero-emission vehicle category but this has since been delayed several times.
> E-scooters and the law: When and where are you legally allowed to ride an electric scooter
On e-scooter trials in Scotland, Hyslop said: “I think it's important that we do look at schemes. It's not a current priority for us, and anything we did would be in consideration to the timing of what we do with more bus lanes and active travel lanes. They would all have to be managed at the same time to have sensible use of electric scooters.
“I'm not saying no to a potential trial, but I think a lot of different, other enabling factors, including confidence in the safety issues and the provision of confidence for people who are walking and wheeling with comfort, would have to be considered.”
The Scottish Conservatives have backed e-scooter trials in Scotland. “There have been trials in England, but for some reason the Scottish Government did not want to see how things might work here,” Graham Simpson said.
"Given that we have no evidence of our own, Fiona Hyslop should look down south to see how things have gone. The fact is that people do use e-scooters already. I see them all the time in Edinburgh and Glasgow, even though they are illegal. So it would be a good idea to have a trial here and then decide how to proceed.”
Glasgow council asked the Scottish Government back in 2022 to change legislation to allow the use of e-scooters on Scotland’s roads. A transport strategy policy document said the vehicles would be ‘closely monitored’ if introduced.
The possibility of a Scottish e-scooter trial has also been welcomed by shared transport charity CoMoUK. Chief executive Richard Dilks said: “It is good to hear that Fiona Hyslop is open to running e-scooter trials in Scotland, and we would encourage the Scottish and UK Governments to work together to make this happen."
Dilks said people’s perceptions of shared e-scooters are, "undoubtedly clouded by the conduct of riders of privately-owned e-scooters, which are totally unregulated.
"This is why we would like the UK Government to move forward with plans to legalise e-scooters as soon as possible, ensuring that they can be used safely and responsibly. At the moment the UK is being left behind while other countries zip ahead of us by embracing this cheap, low emission form of transport.”