Of course, like everything else, the whole thing depends on those using it. Look at cars, motorbikes, the internet, drinking etc... Everything can be abused, but we don't just remove it because of the minority of idiots.
I drive a lot, and although plenty of the people I see on these scooters happily go through red traffic lights, I've never actually had a near miss or any actual problem around them. Contrast that with the absolute lunatics I have to avoid every single day on the road driving vehicles like lethal weapons. Lots of those seem quite happy to ignore red traffic lights when it suits too. I actually have far more problems with Deliveroo types who teararse on pavements when I'm walking and breeze through red traffic lights at night in black clothing and no lights on their bikes. Compared to many drivers and people on bikes, the scooter crowd are pretty good. I quite like having them around in a modern city, and Liverpool is just the right size to get to see all the sights on one quite easily if you are a tourist and want to get around. It allows people to get to places they'd probably not bother with if they had to walk it.
This is the crux of the issue for me. People love to moan about new or different forms of transports, but at the end of the day the most dominant form of transport we have in the form of the car will always be far more costly and dangerous then the alternatives.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/922717/reported-road-casualties-annual-report-2019.pdfTotal 2019 Road casualty statistics for the UK:
153,158 reported injuries of all severities
25,945 serious injuries
1,752 deaths
Of these deaths:
736 were car occupants
456 were pedestrians
100 were cyclists
It is safe to assume the vast majority of these deaths (and presumably severe injuries also) were caused by cars or other motorised road transport. Cars aren´t just dangerous for those in them, but for everyone else around them in a way that other forms of transport just don´t compare.
And thats not even including the deaths from pollution statistics.
I do agree I think they're great for the city, but think the city needs to really think about it's road, pavement and cycle/scooter lane planning in a more joined up way if these are here to stay (which they likely are).
This is the other crux of the issue. Infrastructure is absolutely crucial to getting people out of their cars and into greener, safer and healthier forms of transport.
But people in this country are still completely wedded to their cars. Getting people out of cars inevitably involves some unpopular decisions which many local and national politicians are not willing to make.
And even then, what cycling infrastructure developments there are are completely half arsed.
One example - I used to cycle home from town and going down Prinny Ave at rush hour was always my least favourite part. It was downright dangerous - car doors on one side, cars trying to pass by on the same lane as you (on what is a narrow 2-lane road) on the other side. Coupled with pot holes.
To add to the fun, if you tried to ride in the middle of the lane, as you are supposed to do to stop cars passing too close, despite cars having a whole other lane to pass by, you would get drivers screaming at you, beeping at you, purposefully riding too close and too fast to you, cutting you off, and on one occasion throwing a bottle of lucozade over you when we had both stopped at the roundabout. Lovely stuff.
So I was chuffed to hear they were finally building a cycle lane down the middle of Prinny Ave. The plans showed it would be a fully joined up cycle lane, with all the road islands in the middle removed - meaning I could effectively get from the Aigburth Vale side of Sefton Park all the way into town without being on the road.
What actually ended up getting built? A cycle lane which you still need to get on the pavement or go on the road around the very busy roundabout to get onto from Princes Park. So a basic lack of planning. To make matters worse the road lobby won out, so the road islands in the middle are still there, meaning you still have to stop at every junction anyway. And then at the far end near town you again have to go back onto the busy road or pavement to get off the cycle lane.
It actually more efficient, and potentially safer (in terms of not having to get across the road to access the cycle lane) to just stay on the road. But now there is a cycle lane, any cyclists choosing to stay on the road will be subject to even more abuse from people speeding around in tonnes of metal on account of the fact they could be using the cycle lane.
And as a side note regarding the attitude of some of our lovely Labour councillors regarding cycling. I happen to know a Green councillor (family friend). When he suggested in a council meeting that £30,000 a year could be saved by axing councillors City Centre parking permits, and councillors could ride their bikes or take the bus/train to town instead, it was met by an abusive tirade from the lovely Ann O´Byrne shouting that a bunch of Middle class hippies were trying to take away the use of cars from working class women.
As if all working class woman can even afford cars in the first place, and that cycling and public transport are not cheaper forms of transport. And that the reason people need cars to get around is because the infrastructure for the alternative just isn´t there (which she as a councillor could help do something about).
Anyway I digress
