Nottingham City Council is excited to announce the re-launch of e-scooters across the city. The e-scooters are now ready to use, joining the e-bikes already available for hire. Dott has been chosen to operate the e-scooter scheme in Nottingham, offering a greener travel option to help take cars off our roads and improve air quality. The striking blue and red e-scooters are approved by the Department for Transport (DfT) and are used in other UK cities such as Bristol and Milton Keynes.
Around 1300 e-scooters are available to hire from approximately 300 mandatory parking locations across the city. Key lessons around parking have been learnt from previous e-scooter trials. Using money from the Transforming Cities Fund, the council has recently installed 275 racks for e-bikes and e-scooters to help signpost and improve parking. In addition, the original e-scooter parking spots have all been audited and reviewed, and those not meeting the council’s parking criteria will not be reactivated in the new scheme.
The e-scooters have pay-as-you-go pricing, with no unlock fee and costing 29p per minute to ride. There are several pass options available such as £2.99 a month for unlimited £2 rides. Discounts are also offered to key groups such as NHS workers, people on low incomes, and students.
Dott are providing many education and training options for first-time riders, including a mandatory onboarding quiz, tutorials on the app, a beginner’s mode (reducing vehicle speed for the first three rides), and regular in-person training events led by trained experts. There is a transparent user disciplinary process so any riders found breaking the rules will be given fines. 24/7 customer support is available via in-app reporting, chatbots, email, social media and a free phone number.
The e-scooters are fitted with technology so they don’t operate outside Nottingham City Council boundaries. This has also enabled the council to create ‘low speed’ or ‘no go’ zones.
Dott’s e-scooters are kitted out with several different features to ensure the safe use of the vehicles:
- A double kickstand is attached so they are more stable.
- Tracking is on all of the vehicles and the wheels lock if there is an attempt to take it out of the city boundary to reduce the opportunity for theft and vandalism.
- Status lights are visible to show whether the vehicle is available for hire.
- They have a phone charger which has wireless charging.
- Number plates are visible on the back of the e-scooters as well as contact information on the handle.
- A pavement riding detection system will be piloted through the use of onboard cameras and tandem riding sensors will be trialled.
- The batteries are swappable, meaning that the e-scooters don’t need to be taken away to be charged.
Nottingham is one of many cities trialling e-scooters, and learning made in the city will be used to plan the smooth integration of e-scooters into cities around the UK, if they are legalised in the future. The government’s e-scooter trial is due to end in May 2026. The e-scooters can be used on roads, cycle lanes, carriageways and other areas where cycling is permitted but not on pavements. Anyone wanting to hire an e-scooter must be over 18 years old and hold at least a provisional driving licence.
Nottingham City Council Leader and Executive Member for Strategic Regeneration, Transport and Communications, Councillor Neghat Khan said: “We are thrilled that e-scooters are back in Nottingham, providing a convenient, sustainable, and affordable transport option. By offering an alternative to car journeys, e-scooters play a key role in easing congestion and lowering harmful emissions in our city. This aligns with our commitment to improving air quality and promoting greener travel for all our residents and visitors.”
Peadar Golden, UK General Manager at Dott said: “We are very excited to work with Nottingham City Council to provide another efficient and sustainable transport solution to get people out of their cars. As a responsible operator, Dott is bringing its experience from more than 400 cities to ensure its service is carefully integrated into the city, offering safety and reliability for riders together with orderly streets for pedestrians.”
For more information on e-scooters, visit the Transport Nottingham website.
Posted on 26 March 2025
