E-scooter hire company Voi are investigating after three young people somehow managed to ride on a scooter in the centre of Bristol this week.
The double-backie, or 'triple-up' was captured on camera in The Centre as the trio first travelled up the cycle path alongside the fountains, and then onto Baldwin Street and back down in front of traffic on St Augustine’s Parade.
The scooter was one of the new versions of Vois launched last month, which have a more stable rear mudguard - and that was utilised by the three who stood with the rider at the front, the first passenger on the wider board and the second passenger on the wider and sturdier back wheel guard.
Read more: I tried the new generation of Voi e-scooters that are coming to Bristol
It is believed to be the first time three people riding an e-scooter has been reported - in February this year, Voi said it had issued a ban to one rider who was captured on a dashcam in Clifton giving a backie to a friend.
And the pilot scheme - which the Government this week announced would be extended for another 18 months until May 2024 - has seen scores of complaints in Bristol about riders doubling up illegally.
A spokesperson for Voi said the incident of three people riding the scooter, which happened on Tuesday afternoon this week, had been reported to them: “Whenever we manage to identify someone riding against our user agreement, we take the necessary steps to warn and/or block these individuals from using our service in the future,” he said.
Transport minister Trudy Harrison announced that English local authorities, including the West of England, are being given the option of continuing pilot schemes for rental e-scooters until the end of May 2024.
This will allow the Government to “gather further evidence where gaps are identified, building on the findings of the current evaluation”.
West of England metro mayor Dan Norris will decide between now and October, when the current pilot runs out, whether to continue with it, scrap it, or continue with a different e-scooter hire scheme provider - something he threatened he would consider in April, because of Voi’s links with Russian investors.
Department for Transport statistics show 223 pedestrians were injured after being hit by e-scooters in Britain last year, including 63 who were seriously hurt.
That is up from a total of 57 casualties in 2020, with just 13 suffering serious injuries. In May this year, a major study by RoSPA found e-scooters are five times safer to ride than bikes.
Read next:
E-scooter rider caught on M5 near Bristol was 'following sat-nav on his first day at new job'
'Next generation' model of Voi e-scooters rolled out in Bristol today
E-scooters 'are five times safer than bikes' major new study has shown
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