E-bikes and scooters are not wanted on our streets, thanks - Susan Dalgety

It would cost at least £20 million to finance a new scheme, and the city council has a long list of priorities it could spend that money on before investing in bikes for daft lads who fancy a joyride along Queen Street. Potholes for a start.

But it seems two private companies – Lime and Dott – are set to have talks with the council about bringing back bikes for rent. Electric ones at that and the prospect fills me with dread.

Lime, a San Francisco based company, already supply e-bikes on the streets of London and recently introduced e-scooters on a trial basis in several boroughs including Camden, Lambeth and Westminster. At the same time, Paris has just banned Lime’s e-scooters, after a five year experiment went badly wrong.

The electric scooters proved to be a dangerous menace on the streets and pavements of France’s capital city, even after stricter rules were introduced to try and improve the operation of the scheme. The 15,000 vehicles were much loved by young Parisiens but hated by everyone else. After a sustained campaign against them, the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo held a referendum in April to decide on their future. Almost 90 per cent of people voted to ban them.

Earlier this year I spent a few days in Marseille, where Lime also operates an e-scooter scheme. Our Airbnb was on Rue de La Republique, a very similar street to Leith Walk, complete with trams. I watched in horror from our tiny balcony as screaming teenagers careered up and down the road on their e-scooters, seemingly oblivious to oncoming traffic.

No-one wore a helmet. Some idiots rode pillion. There were even careless parents who brought their young children along for a ride. The pavements were just as bad. I took my life in my hands every time I stepped out of the flat as e-scooters whizzed by within centimetres of me. Remonstrating with the careless riders was pointless.

There is no suggestion that Lime wants to introduce e-scooters to Edinburgh…yet. But even e-bikes, much faster and heavier than their manual counterparts, would be a potential danger on our streets in the hands of irresponsible cyclists.

Our city centre benefits from one of the best public transport systems in Britain. It is small enough to be walkable, and I am not persuaded that there is a huge demand from locals, or tourists, for another bike scheme, especially one that is powered by electric motors.

As David Belliard, the Green deputy mayor of Paris, responsible for transport said recently, “We know that it’s possible to live in a big city without an electric scooter rental scheme … This is about our larger work to simplify, calm down and de-clutter the public space in Paris.”

Lime has already sent its unwanted Parisian e-scooters to Lille, Copenhagen and London. Let’s hope that Edinburgh is not next on its list.