Manchester City Council is drawing up plans for a rental e-scooter trial that it says could start in summer 2027, but no decision has yet been made on whether it will go ahead.

In a council report, officers said they had been "designing and developing a detailed proposal to operate a trial scheme, which would be planned to begin operation in summer 2027". The report said e-scooters could offer residents and visitors a "popular zero-emission transport mode" for getting around the city.

What has been agreed so far

A council spokesperson said the Department for Transport (DfT) had given provisional approval for the council to develop a proposal, and that "officers are currently undertaking work to assess future benefits, risks and how an e-scooter scheme could work in practice in Manchester". The spokesperson said summer 2027 is the latest a new trial could start under the DfT's requirements.

Under the government's guidance for new trials, a council's application is first approved in principle. The council then has to appoint an operator and send the DfT its fleet management plans, measures to tackle anti-social behaviour and the trial's boundary before the department decides on final approval.

The council said any trial would depend on "successful engagement with GMP, representative disability groups, elected members and other key stakeholders, and procurement of an operator". It has not yet chosen an operator. The scheme would be run on a commercial basis, with no cost to the council, and will be scrutinised further by officials before a decision is made.

The Salford scheme

The plans follow Salford's e-scooter trial, which began in 2020 and is run by Lime. Anyone over 18 with a provisional driving licence can hire a scooter through the app. Salford's deputy mayor, Mike McCusker, called the scheme an "overwhelming success", saying more than 2.5 million journeys had been made, replacing an estimated 600,000 car journeys.

It has not been without problems. Salford Quays councillor Jonathan Moore said in 2024 that children were using the scooters to race in car parks, and Lime brought in stricter checks in response. Mr McCusker said there had also been issues with pavement riding and inconsiderate parking, and that Salford Council was working with Lime on them. Lime said riders must be 18 or over and complete an ID scan to confirm their age, and that suspected underage riding can be reported to its help centre.

Sources: reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service via BBC News and the Manchester Evening News, including quotes from Manchester City Council's report and spokesperson, Salford City Council and Lime; trial approval process from the Department for Transport's guidance on new e-scooter trials. This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked by an editor against the sources above.