Leaders at Norfolk County Council have used their powers to permit hire company Beryl to keep providing the e-scooters until May 2028.

The trial, which has seen the number of e-scooters increase from an initial 100 to 500, has been hailed for helping people get to education, training and employment and cutting emissions as an alternative to cars.

It has also gone beyond the city's boundaries, with scooters now available in Hethersett and Wymondham.

But the vehicles have also triggered controversy, with some riders illegally using them on pavements, while the number of accidents involving the vehicles is believed to be under reported.

The trial, which started in September 2020 under a Department of Transport (DfT) pilot, has been extended a number of times, but was due to expire next month.

However, Graham Plant, Conservative-controlled County Hall's cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure has used his powers to extend the trial for two more years.

Graham Plant (Image: Owen Sennitt)

In the report which led to Mr Plant's decision, officers stated: "Operating the trial to May 31, 2028, will ensure that existing e-scooter users can continue to make sustainable, zero-emission journeys around Norwich.

"This extension will also encourage new users to try the e-scooters and travel sustainably into the future, further avoiding the use of carbon emitting modes of transport.

"The usage data of the e-scooters provides strong evidence that the e-scooters are well used, provide viable sustainable transport options, and create a measurable level of modal shift.

"There are now over 100,000 users registered with Beryl in Norwich, who are using the e-scooters to access education, training and employment, as well as essential services, such as healthcare and libraries, retail and other transport modes, such as bus and rail stations."

Officers said more than 1.2 million e-scooter journeys have been made since the scheme launched and, on average each e-scooter is used 2.4 times each day.

They said more than a third of e-scooter journeys have replaced trips in vehicles, such as cars, taxis or motorbikes, with an average trip length of about two miles.

Beryl e-scooters, which are allowed to travel at a maximum 12.5 miles per hour, can be used on roads, cycle lanes, carriageways and other areas where cycling is permitted, but not on pavements.

Riding them with passengers is illegal.

Riders must be 18 or over, registered with Beryl, and have a UK-valid driving licence or provisional licence.

Beryl has worked with Norfolk police about anti-social use of the e-scooters, which has led to warnings and bans.

While people can use Beryl e-scooters because of the trial, it remains illegal to ride privately-owned e-scooters on public roads and land.

A separate e-scooter trial in Great Yarmouth, with operator Ginger, launched in March 2021, but was suspended in 2024.

Ginger e-scooters in Great Yarmouth, before the scheme was scrapped (Image: Daniel Hickey)

Latest Department from Transport statistics, based on figures provided by Norfolk police, show that, in 2024, eight people in Norfolk were hurt in crashes involving e-scooters, down on 15 the previous year.

Those figures did not record whether the vehicles were rented or privately-owned e-scooters.

And there remain concerns that the true number of accidents involving e-scooters remains under-recorded.

A national study by the Parliamentary Advisory Committee for Public Safety, looked at 300 casualties recorded by hospitals across the UK, police records and data from the rental trials.

It found fewer than 10pc of casualties with any level of injury from a crash involving an e-scooter who went to emergency departments were recorded in the official data.

© Eastern Daily Press