Plans to improve the safety of e-scooters by developing a 'universal sound' to alert pedestrians and others have been unveiled.

The details have been revealed by Transport for London (TfL) and welcomed by Richmond Park MP, Sarah Olney.

Richmond is one of the London boroughs to have an official e-scooter hire scheme, which allows their use on the area's roads.

However, there are also many individuals using their own e-scooters, which is both illegal and has generated a lot of criticism from pedestrians and other road users.

TfL and e-scooter operators Dott, Lime and TIER have released new data that shows the progress made in trialling this new form of transport.

More than 585,000 trips have now been made, covering a total of 1.6 million kilometres. Around 180,000 people have used the scheme to date and the most rides by a single user was more than 300 trips.

The busiest month for the trial was October, as people returned to offices, and the most popular time to ride an e-scooter is between 6pm-7pm.

Over the past eight months, the number of vehicles available to hire has increased six-fold to 3,585.

The London operators are collaborating with UCL's world-leading research facility PEARL to research and develop a 'universal sound' for rental e-scooters.

The hope is this will improve safety across the entire e-scooter industry by helping people, in particular those with visual impairments.

The rental vehicles in London have high safety standards, which go beyond the national standards, including a speed limit of 12.5mph, larger wheels and lights that are always on throughout any rental.

Sarah Olney said the new figures on official e-scooter usage 'should be encouraging for all those who recognise how important it is for Londoner's to ditch their car keys and turn to more sustainable forms of transport'.

She said: "For London to make a sustainable recovery from the pandemic and make good on its Net Zero obligations, we need to start exploring alternative means of getting around.

"I recognise that many, particularly those with visual impairments and other disabilities, have been concerned about their safety since the trial's announcement.

"With that in mind I am really pleased to read that the operators will be partnering with PEARL to develop a 'universal sound' that can help alert pedestrians of their presence nearby."

Will Norman, London's Walking & Cycling Commissioner, said: "I am pleased that this e-scooter trial is proving popular and it is staggering to think that enough trips have now been made to go around the world 40 times.

"As we continue to recover from the pandemic, e-scooters can play a role in urban transport systems offering greener and more sustainable alternatives to the car.

"However, there is currently a woeful lack of regulation around private e-scooters. The London trial has safety at its heart and we continue to gather evidence about how e-scooters can be made safer for riders and all other road users."