More than 100 fines a day have been issued to e-scooter riders for parking in the wrong place in the region over the last five months.
Dott e-scooters and e-bikes are available for hire | Photo © WECA / Dott
About 16,000 fixed penalty notices were handed out between September 2025 and January 2026 across the West of England.
Metro mayor Helen Godwin told the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) overview and scrutiny committee that a successful campaign launched with Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Clare Moody last August, Scoot Safe, had resulted in 99 per cent of journeys now ending in correct parking.
E-scooter and e-bike hire operator Dott introduced the fines to tackle inconsiderate parking, which risks a £10 charge, rising to £15 if left outside WECA trial’s operating area – Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, and parts of South Gloucestershire – in a bid to keep pavements clear and safe.
B&NES councillor Jess David (Lib Dem, Moorlands) asked Ms Godwin at the meeting on Monday 23rd March: “You’d stated that we had a significant increase in marked bays installed and that you had further locations planned.
“How will these be delivered, and how will you ensure they are equitable across all authorities?
“What evidence do you have that the current enforcement is improving, particularly around parking compliance, and how will you look to strengthen in retendering the contract?
“I’ve seen issues in outer Bath where bikes and scooters are parked there for several days.”
The mayor replied that WECA had £1 million from devolved transport money from the government to install more parking areas.
She said: “Since Scoot Safe, which we launched last summer, we’ve rolled out 52 new bays and we’re working with officers at the unitary authorities (UAs) to understand where are the best places to do that.
“So it’s about where the demand is, where the space is, and we would usually defer to the UAs on that.
“Since the start of Scoot Safe last August, we’ve issued 16,000 fines between September and January and the data tells us that 99 per cent of journeys are now ending in a proper parking spot, verified through in-app photos, so that feels like really good news.
“We want to keep working with the UAs on that data and intelligence around that.”
The contract with Dott will expire in July 2027 and cannot be extended beyond its four-year term, so a new one has to be procured to continue the trial, with the main WECA committee delegating authority to senior officers to begin the process.
Ms Godwin told the overview and scrutiny committee: “The retender contract will include performance metrics enabling operational contract management.
“At the moment the operators are contracted to remove vehicles posing a challenge within six hours of being reported.”
Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter
