IT took just 45 days for e-scooters in the Taunton trial to clock up the equivalent miles to travelling around the world.

If the rides had replaced car journeys, that would be the same as removing an estimated three tonnes of carbon from our atmosphere.

Since the trial launch in October, the scheme has registered more than 6,000 users, who have made a total of more than 15,000 rides so far.

The scooters had travelled 24,901 after 45 days and have since covered more than 30,000 miles overall.

The trial is now being extended to Bathpool and Monkton Heathfield.

Somerset West and Taunton Council and operators Zipp Mobility have now decided to offer free rides for healthcare workers during lockdown - they should e-mail info@zippmobility.com from their NHS e-mail address with their location and e-mail address and phone number associated with their Zipp account.

They will then receive a promo code which can be used in the Zipp Mobility app for details visit www.somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk/climate-emergency/escooter-trials/

Cllr Peter Pilkington, SWT executive member for climate, said: “It’s incredible that our e-scooter users have travelled the equivalent of a journey around the world already and even more so that they’ve had such an impact on our carbon footprint in such a short space of time, which is particularly important in line with our commitment to working towards achieving carbon neutrality and climate resilience by 2030.

“Our e-scooters are proving to be so popular that we are expanding the trial area as well as offering free rides to our dedicated frontline workers."

Zipp Mobility chief executive Charlie Gleeson said: “The Taunton trial has exceeded our most optimistic projections for ridership and we couldn’t be happier with our team on the ground. They are doing a superb job at meeting this demand.

"We are also very proud that we are able to operate this scheme in an eco-friendly manner through our use of electric vans to manage and redistribute our fleet of electric scooters.”

e-scooters can only be used by people over 16 with a provisional or full driving licence.

Privately owned scooters can only be used on private land.

Richard McKiernan, traffic management officer at Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Whilst the vast majority of people who are renting the Zipp trial e-scooters are fully complying with the regulations, there still seems to be a lack of awareness of the law amongst those who own their own e-scooters.

"Although the police approach has been to educate in the first instance, using a privately owned e-scooter in public commits the offence of no insurance, which can lead to a large fine and points on your licence. Your e-scooter will also be seized and destroyed as a result."

You can hire a Zipp e-scooter from any of the parking bays across Taunton. You will be charged £1 to unlock the e-scooter and 10p per minute thereafter using the Zipp Mobility App – apps.apple.com/ie/developer/zipp-mobility-limited/id1526255915

When you have finished your ride simply take it back to any of the parking bays set up at strategic locations around town. If you have a suggestion for where you would like to see a parking bay, contact Taunton@zippmobility.com

Somerset County Gazette: Rules of the road for e-scooter usersRules of the road for e-scooter users

The trial in Taunton is geofenced which means the e-scooters will only work inside permitted areas. The maximum speed limited for this trial has been limited to 13.5mph, and there are slower zones within the trial area. e-scooters are only permitted on roads, cycle lanes and cycle tracks, not pavements.