Drunk e-scooter riders on Birmingham towpaths

A GRAND scheme to hire out e-scooters in Birmingham has been drastically cut.

It was discovered that many hiring the scooters were drunk and riding on the city's towpaths, with magnet fishermen asked to retrieve them from the city's canals, Alan Tilbury reports.

Detect drunk riders

So the original number of 200 scooters has been cut to just 50, and it there is a suggestion they may be fitted with technology to detect drunk riders.

These scooters are not allowed on either pavements or towpaths, but the scheme that was launched in September has seen instances of both.

Ridden on the many towpaths

The scooters can only be ridden in Birmingham's city centre, and there is geo-fencing used to stop them being ridden beyond certain boundaries, but this of course does not prevent them being ridden on the many towpaths within the defined area.

This same geo-fencing technology is also being considered to prevent the e-scooters being used on the city's canal towpaths, after it was revealed magnet fishers have been asked to retrieve some from the water.