E-scooters coming soon

Neuron intends to deploy 300 safety-first e-scooters, which will be phased into operation, with the first 100 available to hire from late March.

The distinctive orange e-scooters will provide residents and visitors with a safe, socially-distanced and environmentally-friendly way to travel.
 
The e-scooters are GPS-enabled and Neuron and the City Council will use Geofencing technology to control where they are ridden and parked, and how fast they can travel in certain areas by creating slow-zones, no-ride zones and no-parking zones.

Each e-scooter will be fitted with a unique license plate for easy identification and to promote responsible use.

Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Graeme Miller said: "We're looking forward to this work with Neuron as we explore opportunities for clean and inexpensive travel that can also ease the burden on transport networks and allows for social distancing.
 
"Sunderland has set down its credentials and plans to become a carbon-neutral city, and if e-scooters can play a part in this then it's very important that we find out more through this trial."
 
Neuron will deploy a dedicated safety team as part of the trial. They will be armed with hospital-grade disinfectant to keep e-scooters and helmets clean and germ-free. Teams will be moving e-scooters to where they are needed most, assisting new riders with signing up on the app, and will deliver practical tips for safe riding.
 
Neuron recently launched a trial in Newcastle, meaning leisure travellers and commuters travelling between the two cities will be able to take advantage of their e-scooters to complement their journey at both ends providing a first/last mile alternative to other forms of transport.
 
Zachary Wang, CEO of Neuron Mobility, said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Sunderland City Council to launch their e-scooter trial. Sunderland is a fantastic city with great transport links and strong green credentials. As our second location in the North East we are excited to be able to bring our e-scooters to even more people in the region and help to cement e-scooters as an integral part of the North East's transport mix.

"Safety is our top priority, it dictates our e-scooter design and also the way we operate them. Our e-scooters are packed with cutting-edge safety features and our safety course and riding guidelines have been co-developed with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)."
 
As well as the Helmet Lock, riders will benefit from voice guidance to educate and warn them of how to travel safely; a "Follow My Ride" feature which allows riders to share their trip with friends and family in real time for added safety and peace of mind; and a 999 emergency button which can tell if someone has had a fall, then help them call the emergency services.

The company will use a topple detection feature that alerts Neuron's operations team if an e-scooter has been left on its side so it can quickly be repositioned safely.