The University of Salford has become the first university in the UK to offer e-scooters to students, staff, and the general public.
Today, they launch the new scooters as part of a plan with Salford City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester to offer a greener mode of transport around Salford.
Florence Milner, the General Manager for the UK and Ireland at ‘Lime’- the company who makes the scooters, explains how they will benefit Salford.
She said: “Salford, like many cities in the UK is dealing problems like congestion, air quality and also following the pandemic, issues with public transport. People are desperately seeking socially distanced ways to get around.
She continued: “The whole process from start to finish is completely green. We use E-vans to transport our scooters for charging and then they are charged with completely renewable energy.
“We hope the scooters will be a good option for all those really short car journeys. Over 60 percent of car journeys are under three miles, and e-scooters are perfect for those kinds of trips.”
Watch Ms Milner explain how to use the scooters here:
There are plans to extend the scheme to the university’s Media City campus in the coming weeks. Michael Brown, the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the University of Salford says that they are hoping to also expand the scheme to the rest of Salford.
He said: “One of the things we’re looking at is providing connectivity for staff and students between the campuses. For students who commute to and from Media City, the 50 bus is usually delayed, and it’s not synced to our timetables.
“With the e-scooters, students will be able to do travel on demand, rent a scooter, park up outside campus and walk into the building.”
He added: “Soon, we’ll be able to connect Salford Crescent train station to Media City through to Ordsall and the NHS hospital and then up to other parts of Salford.”
The university boasted of their success on twitter, tweeting: “We’re having a great time showing off the new Lime E-scooters on our main campus! Even the police are getting in on the fun…”
We're having a great time showing off the new @limebike E-scooters on our @SalfordUni main campus! Even the police are getting in on the fun… #EscooterinSalford #EscooteronCampus pic.twitter.com/6AMr2a92VA
— Salford Uni News (@SalfordUniNews) October 21, 2020
To access one of the scooters, you log into the lime app and locate the nearest parking bay. You then scan the QR code on the scooter and unlock for £1.
The scooters are fuelled entirely on renewable energy, and cost 15p a minute to ride, which works out at £9 on hour. You can also get a day pass for the same price, or a monthly pass for £39.99. The company also offers reduced rates for students and staff at the university.
The company who makes the scooters has also employed a number of student ambassadors to charge the scooters and clean them regularly, in line with Covid-19 guidelines.
Take a look at the video below to see how students reacted to the new addition to their campus.
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