E-scooter trial expands, outage causes major disruption and book swapping returns.
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00:00Hello and welcome to the latest London Transport Travel Roundup.
00:05A third of London's boroughs now host e-scooter trials, with Wandsworth becoming the latest area to join.
00:13Transport for London confirmed that the initiative, operated in collaboration with London councils and providers,
00:21Voi and Lime, remains the only legal way to ride electric e-scooters on public roads in the capital.
00:29Privately owned e-scooters are still banned from public roads due to the absence of mandatory safety standards.
00:38In contrast, e-scooters used in the trial are required to meet rigorous safety regulations exceeding national requirements.
00:47These include a 12.5mph speed limit and lights that must remain on at all times of the day.
00:55The trial is contracted to run until the 25th of September 2025, with the possibility of an extension of up to one year.
01:04TfL's latest figures show that more than 5 million ships have been made on rental e-scooters since the launch in 2021.
01:15Meanwhile, a popular initiative promoting literacy is set to return to parts of the London Underground.
01:21TfL announced that BookSwap's scheme, which was suspended over fire safety concerns, could resume at 15 surface level stations next month.
01:32The decision follows the identification of a suitable fireproof storage solution.
01:38London Fire Brigade raised concerns about the materials posing a risk to fire originally.
01:44The original suspension, which took place last month, had prompted criticism, including from former London Fire Brigade Commander Steve Dundeney,
01:54who described the move as excessive.
01:57London Fire Brigade Commissioner Andy Rowe later clarified that while service is supported,
02:03the tradition of Londoners sharing books needed to be managed safely.
02:07Elsewhere, Transport for London has come under fire earlier this week for what London Travel Watch described as a disappointing lack of communication during a major power failure.
02:20Many of you might have experienced the incident that caused widespread on Monday affecting the tube and overground services across multiple lines,
02:28including the Elizabeth Bakerloo, Jubilee and Northern lines.
02:32The disruption followed an unexpected power supply issue linked to the National Grid's transmission network.
02:40TfL said that the power cart struck without warning at around 2.30pm in southwest London, triggering significant knock-on delays.
02:50TfL has been criticised for failing to provide timely updates,
02:54noting that both its website and social media channels were unreliable during the disruption.