England E-Scooter Trial Areas: Every Rental Zone Listed (2026)

This article is general information about England's rental e-scooter trial areas and is not legal advice. If you are unsure whether a specific street or scheme is covered by a live trial, check the operator's app or the local council's website, or speak to a solicitor for advice about your situation. Information last verified on 23 July 2026.

This page indexes every area where the Department for Transport currently lists a live rental e-scooter trial in England. It does not cover the trial's legal framework in depth (see our England e-scooter laws page for that) or London's own borough list and scheme rules (see our London e-scooter laws page). Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not part of this list because none of them currently run a rental e-scooter trial; see our main UK e-scooter laws page for how all four nations compare, within our wider United Kingdom driving laws section and United Kingdom hub.

How the trial scheme works

Every area on this page operates under the same underlying legal framework. The Electric Scooter Trials and Traffic Signs (Coronavirus) Regulations and General Directions 2020 (SI 2020/663) amends four existing pieces of secondary legislation to carve rental e-scooters out of registration, helmet and licence-class rules that would otherwise apply, and to let them use cycle lanes and cycle tracks within an authorised trial.

SI 2020/663 itself has never been amended and contains no expiry clause. The trial's scheduled end date is set separately by Department for Transport guidance, not by the SI's own text, a distinction that matters for the history section further down this page.

Being inside a listed trial area only makes a rental e-scooter hired from an authorised operator lawful. A privately owned e-scooter remains illegal to ride on a road, cycle lane or pavement anywhere in England, trial area or not.

Who can ride

Riding a rental e-scooter needs a provisional or full UK driving licence with category Q entitlement, and provisional holders do not need L-plates. A cycle helmet is recommended but is not a legal requirement. The national maximum design speed is 15.5 mph, though individual schemes can set a lower cap, as London does at 12.5 mph.

There is no single nationwide minimum age; each operator sets its own for the scheme it runs. Insurance is arranged by the operator, not the individual rider, with a minimum of third-party cover required. See our England e-scooter laws page for the full rider-requirements breakdown, including foreign-licence rules.

How many trial areas are there right now

This is a case where the Department for Transport's own guidance gives two different numbers, and neither page reconciles them.

Its guidance for local authorities and rental operators states: "There are currently 18 live trials across England and they are due to end on 31 May 2028." Its separate guidance for users, "Using a rental e-scooter," lists 21 named areas, on a page last updated 7 July 2026.

Both figures come from live gov.uk pages read directly, and both were current as of 23 July 2026. One plausible explanation is that some of the 21 named entries, several of which cover more than one town under a single county or combined-authority name, are counted as sub-parts of a single DfT-authorised trial rather than as separate trials in their own right. That is a plausible explanation, not a confirmed one. Both figures are presented on this page as the Department for Transport states them, without forcing them into a single number.

The 21 trial areas

The list below reproduces the Department for Transport's own named list of trial areas, from its "Using a rental e-scooter" guidance page, in the order the DfT lists them. For each area, this page states the towns the DfT includes under that name, and what is separately confirmed about the operator running the scheme. Only a handful of areas have a publicly confirmed operator; for the rest, check the operator's app or the local council's website for the scheme actually running there today.

Bournemouth and Poole

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed for this research; check the operator's app or the local council's website for the scheme currently running here.

Brighton and Hove

Added to the Department for Transport's list in the 7 July 2026 update, alongside Cornwall and Plymouth. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or the local council's website.

Buckinghamshire (Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Princes Risborough)

Covers these three towns under a single Buckinghamshire trial. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or Buckinghamshire Council's website.

Cambridge

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or the local council's website.

Cornwall

Added to the Department for Transport's list in the 7 July 2026 update, alongside Brighton and Hove and Plymouth. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or Cornwall Council's website.

Essex (Braintree and Chelmsford)

Covers these two towns under a single Essex trial. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or Essex County Council's website.

Gloucestershire (Cheltenham, Gloucester and surrounding areas)

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area covering Cheltenham, Gloucester and surrounding areas. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or the local council's website.

Leeds

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or Leeds City Council's website.

Liverpool

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. This page does not name an operator for Liverpool, because no primary source directly confirmed one for 2026 in this research. Check Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's own site or the operator apps active in the city before relying on any specific operator name.

London (participating boroughs)

Different from every other entry on this list, because it spans 11 named boroughs rather than a single town or county. Operated by Lime and Voi since the scheme's second phase launched in September 2023 (the first phase began in June 2021). See our London e-scooter laws page for the full borough list, the 12.5 mph speed cap and Transport for London's 18-plus age rule specific to that scheme.

Milton Keynes

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or the local council's website.

North and West Northamptonshire (Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Rushden and Higham Ferrers)

Covers six named towns under a single trial. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or North Northamptonshire or West Northamptonshire Council's website.

Norwich

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or the local council's website.

Nottingham

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or the local council's website.

Oxford

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or the local council's website.

Plymouth

Added to the Department for Transport's list in the 7 July 2026 update, alongside Brighton and Hove and Cornwall. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or Plymouth City Council's website.

Salford

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or Salford City Council's website.

Slough

Listed by the Department for Transport as a live trial area. No operator has been independently confirmed; check the operator's app or Slough Borough Council's website.

Solent (Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton)

Currently operated by Voi, which replaced the previous operator Beryl. Solent Transport's own page states more than 1,650 e-scooters, more than 250,000 participants, and more than 5.4 million rides covering more than 12.4 million km since the scheme launched in November 2020.

West Midlands (Birmingham, Coventry)

Has changed operator more than once. Voi ran the original scheme until it paused in March 2023 when its contract ended; the scheme restarted under Beryl in July 2023. Transport for West Midlands' own page states the Beryl-run scheme closed at the end of March 2026, with Lime introducing new e-scooters from 1 April 2026. Lime should now be the operator as of this page's last verification, though that changeover was confirmed as scheduled rather than independently reconfirmed as live on a later date.

West of England Combined Authority (Bristol, Bath and parts of South Gloucestershire)

Operated by TIER-Dott, formed after a 2024 merger. The West of England Combined Authority describes it as one of the country's most successful e-scooter schemes, with more than 2,500 scooters and around 10,000 rides a day. Its own page also states, in one place, that the "current trial end date" is May 2026, and elsewhere that the trial is "set to continue until May 2028"; this page follows the national 31 May 2028 date confirmed independently by the Department for Transport and Transport for London, and treats the regional page's 2026 reference as not yet updated.

Recent changes to the trial-area list

The Department for Transport's most recent update to its user guidance, dated 7 July 2026, added three new areas: Brighton and Hove, Cornwall and Plymouth. The same update recorded that the Newcastle trial had ended. Newcastle no longer appears on the current area list, and anyone searching for a Newcastle e-scooter trial should treat it as closed rather than paused.

History: how long the trials have run and how long they will continue

The trial framework has been running since July 2020. SI 2020/663 was made on 30 June 2020 and came into force on 4 July 2020, and the Department for Transport's own update log for the user guidance records a series of extensions and area changes since, including the West Midlands trial's 2023 restart after a pause.

The current scheduled end date, 31 May 2028, follows an extension reported around 21 July 2025. Trade press reporting at the time, quoting the Minister for Local Travel, described it as the fifth extension of the trials since they began, opening the door to new areas offering a "new feature" or "unique local characteristic." That "fifth extension" detail comes from reporting, not from a primary Department for Transport release located directly in this research, so it is presented here as reported rather than as confirmed government wording.

Not every regional trial page has caught up with the national date. The West of England Combined Authority's own page for the Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire trial is a clear example, stating both a May 2026 end date and a May 2028 continuation on the same page. Where a regional page conflicts with the Department for Transport's own guidance and Transport for London's independent confirmation of the same date, the national 31 May 2028 date should be treated as the current, governing figure.

Enforcement in practice

None of the history above changes how enforcement works on the ground. A rental e-scooter hired inside a listed trial area is lawful under the DfT framework regardless of how actively a local force polices it, and a private e-scooter remains illegal to ride in public anywhere in England regardless of how often it is stopped. See our England e-scooter laws page for the penalties that apply to private e-scooter use, and our world e-scooter laws guide for how other countries handle their own trial and legalisation models.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many e-scooter trial areas are there in England?

The Department for Transport gives two figures that are not reconciled: its operator guidance states "18 live trials," while its user guidance, last updated 7 July 2026, names 21 separate areas. Both come from live DfT pages; this page lists all 21 named areas.

Is my area part of an e-scooter trial?

Check the list on this page against the Department for Transport's 21 named areas. If your town or county is not listed, there is no rental e-scooter trial covering it, and a privately owned e-scooter remains illegal to ride there in public.

Which company runs the e-scooter trial in my area?

It depends on the area. West of England (Bristol, Bath) is run by TIER-Dott, Solent (Portsmouth, Southampton, Isle of Wight) by Voi, London by Lime and Voi, and West Midlands (Birmingham, Coventry) by Lime as of April 2026. For every other area on this page, check the operator's app or the local council's website.

Is Liverpool part of the e-scooter trial?

Yes, Liverpool is listed as a live trial area by the Department for Transport. This page does not name an operator for Liverpool because no primary source confirmed one in this research; check Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's own site for current details.

Has the Newcastle e-scooter trial ended?

Yes. The Department for Transport's 7 July 2026 update recorded that the Newcastle trial had ended, and Newcastle no longer appears on the current list of trial areas.

Is London part of the e-scooter trial areas?

Yes. London runs its own rental trial across 11 participating boroughs, operated by Lime and Voi, with rules that differ from the rest of England in some respects, including a lower 12.5 mph speed cap and an 18-plus minimum age. See our London e-scooter laws page for details.

Can I ride my own e-scooter inside a trial area?

No. Being inside a trial area only makes a rental e-scooter hired from an authorised operator lawful. A privately owned e-scooter remains illegal to ride on a road, cycle lane or pavement anywhere in England, including inside a trial area's boundaries.

When do England's e-scooter trials end?

The trials are currently scheduled to run until 31 May 2028. That date comes from Department for Transport guidance extending the existing trial arrangements, not from an amendment to the underlying Statutory Instrument, SI 2020/663, which has never been changed since it was made in 2020.