Canterbury Electric Scooter Rental Trial

Update 22 December 2022

The Electric Scooter Rental trial has now come to an end. Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback throughout the trial. The consultation report is now available in the Documents section.


Update 13 September 2022

Kent County Council (KCC) and our operating partner, Bird, are continuing to collect valuable data through the Canterbury electric scooter trial to share with the Department for Transport.

In recent months Bird, working to deliver this trial for KCC, has introduced enhanced safety measures including a reduction of the electric scooter speeds from 15mph to 12mph. They have also increased Birdwatchers to patrol the city for pavement riding and changed their rider policy to introduce an immediate ban for any misdemeanour.

However, KCC has decided to gradually reduce the number of vehicles in the trial, as well as the areas in which they operate, ahead of the trial finishing in Kent at the end of November.

More details on the trial can be found in the consultation document and frequently asked questions available from the Documents section. The use of all other e-scooters remains illegal.

Your feedback continues to be very important in helping to evaluate the trial. If you would like to tell us your views, please complete the feedback form below.

To report safety concerns about equipment owned and operated by Bird, email canterbury@bird.co or call 01484 509145. Any issues reported through these means will be shared with KCC and in some circumstances with Kent Police.

Safety concerns about electric scooters outside the trial should be reported to Kent Police directly.







On 2 November 2020, we launched a trial of rental e-scooters in Canterbury. 

The projectBird electric scooter outside Marlow theatre in Canterbury aims to bring affordable, environmentally friendly e-scooters to the city as part of a Department for Transport (DfT) national trial.

Throughout the trial, only e-scooters provided by Bird on a rental basis are allowed. You can register to rent an e-scooter through the Bird app. You can download this through:

Any private e-scooter use on the highway remains illegal. 

The e-scooters use the same road space as bicycles and are not permitted to travel on the pavement, or outside of the trial area. 

The trial has been delivered in phases so that we can listen to feedback and review safety and usage data. More information on the trial is available from the Documents section on this webpage.

The consultation period for the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order ran for six months from the 30 October 2020 to 3 May 2021. This was followed by a second consultation, from the 3 June to 31 August 2021 as the trial expanded to the wider urban area. The consultation reports for these consultations will be made available on this webpage. 

It is important to us that we continue to listen to your feedback throughout the trial. If you would like to tell us your views, please complete the feedback form below. 

Update 22 December 2022

The Electric Scooter Rental trial has now come to an end. Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback throughout the trial. The consultation report is now available in the Documents section.


Update 13 September 2022

Kent County Council (KCC) and our operating partner, Bird, are continuing to collect valuable data through the Canterbury electric scooter trial to share with the Department for Transport.

In recent months Bird, working to deliver this trial for KCC, has introduced enhanced safety measures including a reduction of the electric scooter speeds from 15mph to 12mph. They have also increased Birdwatchers to patrol the city for pavement riding and changed their rider policy to introduce an immediate ban for any misdemeanour.

However, KCC has decided to gradually reduce the number of vehicles in the trial, as well as the areas in which they operate, ahead of the trial finishing in Kent at the end of November.

More details on the trial can be found in the consultation document and frequently asked questions available from the Documents section. The use of all other e-scooters remains illegal.

Your feedback continues to be very important in helping to evaluate the trial. If you would like to tell us your views, please complete the feedback form below.

To report safety concerns about equipment owned and operated by Bird, email canterbury@bird.co or call 01484 509145. Any issues reported through these means will be shared with KCC and in some circumstances with Kent Police.

Safety concerns about electric scooters outside the trial should be reported to Kent Police directly.







On 2 November 2020, we launched a trial of rental e-scooters in Canterbury. 

The projectBird electric scooter outside Marlow theatre in Canterbury aims to bring affordable, environmentally friendly e-scooters to the city as part of a Department for Transport (DfT) national trial.

Throughout the trial, only e-scooters provided by Bird on a rental basis are allowed. You can register to rent an e-scooter through the Bird app. You can download this through:

Any private e-scooter use on the highway remains illegal. 

The e-scooters use the same road space as bicycles and are not permitted to travel on the pavement, or outside of the trial area. 

The trial has been delivered in phases so that we can listen to feedback and review safety and usage data. More information on the trial is available from the Documents section on this webpage.

The consultation period for the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order ran for six months from the 30 October 2020 to 3 May 2021. This was followed by a second consultation, from the 3 June to 31 August 2021 as the trial expanded to the wider urban area. The consultation reports for these consultations will be made available on this webpage. 

It is important to us that we continue to listen to your feedback throughout the trial. If you would like to tell us your views, please complete the feedback form below. 

  • Update 6 May 2022

    The Department for Transport (DfT) have granted a further extension of the Canterbury electric scooter rental trial, which had been set to end on 31 March. The trial will now run until the end of November 2022.

    To facilitate this extension, the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order, which can only be in place for up to 18 months, must be made permanent for the rest of the trial period. However, the Made Order can be revoked at any point. This only allows the use of the Bird trial e-scooters. The use of all other e-scooters remains illegal.

    The extension is to allow more data about the use of electric scooters to be gathered and reported back to DfT. The extension only permits Bird e-scooters to be used in Canterbury.

    More information on the Made Order can be found on the Highway and Traffic Regulation Order and Public Notice Hub. More details on the trial can be found in the consultation document and frequently asked questions available from the Documents section.

    Your feedback continues to be very important in helping to evaluate the trial. If you would like to tell us your views, please complete the feedback form below.

    To report safety concerns about equipment owned and operated by Bird, email canterbury@bird.co or call 01484 509145. Any issues reported through these means will be shared with KCC and in some circumstances with Kent Police.

    Safety concerns about electric scooters outside the trial should be reported to Kent Police directly.

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  • 1 November 2021

    Following guidance from the Department for Transport (DfT) the trial of electric scooters in Canterbury has been extended for a further six months from 2 November until the end of March 2022.

    Throughout the trial we have consulted and engaged with service users, residents, partners, and other stakeholders. Following the extension of the trial, it is important to us that we continue to listen to feedback. If you would like to tell us your views, please complete the feedback form below.

    If you have any safety concerns, please report these directly to Bird by email at Canterbury@Bird.co, phone 01484 50 91 45 or via their app on a smartphone. Any issues reported through these means will be shared with KCC and in some circumstances Kent Police.

  • 11 August 2021

    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

    We have temporarily paused phase three of the trial and reduced the operational area to phase one and two only (see consultation document for more information on phases). This is due to criminal damage to the e-scooter fleet, which is currently under police investigation. We hope to be operating at full capacity again soon and will update this page when service has resumed.