It’s pretty clear that sales of electric scooters are on a rapid rise at the moment.
The two-wheeled, motor-powered contraptions provide a tempting alternative to cars and other vehicles for many people, especially city centre commuters, as they’re cheaper to run, easier to park, and will likely only set you back anywhere from just over £100, to more than £1000.
According to Which?, Halfords – the UK’s leading provider of motoring and cycling products and services, which sells a selection of electric scooters from popular brands including Xiaomi and Segway – said it has seen a 184% increase in sales year on year in November 2020 for e-mobility products.
An earlier study by the retailer, which polled 2,000 UK adults, found that 16% of respondents claim to own an electric scooter, and 28% would also consider swapping their car for an e-scooter to “benefit the environment”.
These statistics all point to the demand for e-scooters being there, and that those in the market for one won’t have much trouble sourcing a reputable retailer these days either.
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Finding a place to ride your new purchase without breaking the law might be, though.
It seems like every other week or so that a fresh story of someone illegally riding an e-scooter hits the headlines, with many coming up against driving bans, hefty fines, and even jail time in the worst case scenarios.
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Just last week, a 34-year-old Bolton man, Kyle Lowthian, was sentenced given 10 months in prison – suspended for two years, during which he will have to participate in a thinking skills programme and three days of rehabilitation activities – after being spotted by police using an e-scooter one year after a driving ban.
Mr Lowthian’s case resembles numerous others occurring right across the UK, but it isn’t the same for all areas of our region.
As part of a 12-month trial introduced at the start of July 2020 to assess whether the devices reduce motor traffic and what impact they have on the safety of users and those around them, a number of rental e-scooter schemes are currently taking place in Greater Manchester – which permits them to be used on certain public roads and settings at a maximum of 15.5mph – but outside of this, some pretty serious rules do apply.
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But what are they?
Here’s everything you need to know about e-scooters.
The only place an e-scooter can be used is on private land, with the permission of the landowner.
They cannot be ridden on a UK public road, cycle lane or pavement.
Whether you realise it or not, e-scooters are actually classed as motor vehicles, which therefore means that the rules that apply to motor vehicles also apply to e-scooters, including being in possession of a full UK driving license – not an overseas provisional licence, learner permit or equivalent – insurance, and the need to be taxed.
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If you’re caught riding an e-scooter without the proper insurance, you could receive an on-the-spot fine of £300 and six penalty points, and when it comes to being without a driving license, you could also be given a Fixed Penalty Notice with an up to £100 fine and three-six penalty points.
Police will also take action against rider behaviour, whether private or rental.
Offences could include:
Riding on the footway – Fixed Penalty Notice and possible £50 fine.
Using a mobile phone – £100 and six penalty points.
Riding through red lights – Fixed Penalty Notice, £100 fine and possible penalty points.
Drink driving offences – As with driving cars; court imposed fines, driving ban and possible imprisonment.
While it’s recommended that you wear a helmet, you are not legally required to do so, and unlike motor vehicles, e-scooters don’t need to have a registration plate.
Where are e-scooter trials currently taking place?
A number of e-scooter trials are currently taking place in towns and cities across the UK, with the devices only permitted to be used within the local area that is hosting the trial, and riders participating in the trials needing a full or provisional car, motorcycle or moped licence, must be aged at least 16, and urged to wear a helmet.
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In Greater Manchester, trials began in the boroughs of Salford and Rochdale in February.
30 other towns and cities across the UK have begun trials since July 2020, including the fellow major northern hubs of Cheshire West and Chester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York and more.
— Transport for Greater Manchester 🚲🚶🏾♀️ (@OfficialTfGM) October 26, 2020
Where can I rent an e-scooter in Greater Manchester?
As previously mentioned, e-scooter trials are currently taking place in the Greater Manchester boroughs of Rochdale and Salford, and in both locations, the leading e-scooter company Lime Scooters are responsible for rentals.
You will need to download the Lime Scooter app to use the devices.
Once you have downloaded the app, you can then see where the e-scooters are currently located – shown on the app with a scooter symbol – and also discover locations for parking your scooter when you’re done, shown on the map with a ‘P’ symbol.
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All you’ll need to do is follow the instructions on the app to find out how to use and drop off a scooter when you’re done.
Find out more information about e-scooter rentals in Greater Manchester here.
Featured Image – Lime Scooters
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Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Featured Images — Charles Bowring (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
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‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
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Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Emily Sergeant -
29th April 2021 
