Opinion: Colchester's e-scooters aren’t a transport revolution — they’re a public nuisance

Colchester City Council has doubled down on its love affair with hire e-scooters, despite mounting evidence that the scheme is less a transport revolution and more a public menace.

While Basildon Council has sensibly pulled the plug on their e-scooter programme, citing concerns over "criminal behaviour," Colchester’s leaders seem content to let the chaos roll on. Why? Apparently, these glorified toys are “improving air quality and reducing road congestion.” Yes, you read that right.

Let’s start with the obvious. Walk down any street in Colchester, and you’ll find these scooters and their equally obnoxious cousins, e-bikes, dumped like yesterday’s rubbish. Pavements have become obstacle courses, with abandoned vehicles sprawled across footpaths, forcing pedestrians to weave through the mess. Heaven help you if you’re elderly, disabled, trying to push a pram, or just trying to walk anywhere at all.

The council’s response? A shrug. The operator, Dott, has the audacity to claim their scooters are “among the safest and most controlled forms of micromobility available.” Safest for whom? Certainly not the pedestrians dodging these death traps.

And then there’s the way they’re ridden. “Controlled” is not the word that springs to mind. These scooters are often seen hurtling down pavements, weaving through traffic, and ignoring every rule of the road. Riders, many of whom seem to have a death wish, treat red lights as mere suggestions.

Just last week, a local shopkeeper reported a near-miss when a scooter rider, hooded and helmetless, zipped past at what must have been 20mph, narrowly avoiding a collision with a delivery driver. This isn’t micromobility; it’s micro-anarchy.

Basildon Council’s decision to scrap their scheme was grounded in reality. They recognised the scooters were being used for everything from drug runs to joyriding—hardly the eco-friendly utopia they were sold as.

Colchester, meanwhile, clings to its greenwashing fantasy. The idea that these scooters are saving the planet is laughable. Most riders are young, able-bodied, and would otherwise walk or cycle. The scooters aren’t replacing car journeys; they’re replacing common sense.

Dott’s claim about safety is particularly rich. These are the same scooters that can be hacked, stolen, or simply abandoned in the middle of the road. The same scooters that have sent countless riders to A&E with broken bones and bruised egos. Yet Colchester Council insists the scheme is a success, patting itself on the back for being “progressive.” Progressive for whom? Not the taxpayers footing the bill for this farce.

The council’s argument about air quality and congestion is equally absurd. A handful of scooters zipping around town isn’t going to clean the air or clear the roads. If anything, they add to the chaos, with riders clogging up cycle lanes and terrorising pedestrians. The real congestion is on the pavements, where these machines are dumped without a second thought.

Colchester deserves better than this half-baked experiment. Basildon has shown the way: scrap the scheme before someone gets seriously hurt, again. Until then, we’ll keep dodging the scooters, sidestepping the bikes, and wondering why our council is so determined to turn the city into a lawless playground for criminals and thrill-seekers alike.