E-scooter firm Voi has said its hire scheme now covers almost the entirety of Bristol following the expansion of its operations in the south of the city.
The Swedish tech firm has announced that from Monday (December 5) people in Hartcliffe, Hengrove, Morrisons Stockwood and Whitchurch will be able to travel using its scooters.
Voi’s operating area in the city, one of its biggest trial markets across the globe, is now up to around 60 square miles.
The move comes after the company extended its reach in the summer to Avonmouth, Henbury and Southmead in the north west and in southern areas including Bishopsworth, Knowle and Brislington.
Voi said the latest expansion would benefit “some of the most deprived neighbourhoods” in Bristol, as its e-scooters play a “key role” in broadening access to employment.
The company said independent research it had commissioned had calculated that by 2024 its e-scooter trail, first introduced in Bristol in October 2020, would have contributed £43m to the local economy - including more than £13m this year.
The study estimated nearly £20m will also be spent on Bristol’s high street as a direct result of access to the e-scooters over the same period.
Sam Pooke, Voi’s senior public policy manager for UK and Ireland, said: “We’re delighted our service is expanding to include communities in the south of Bristol. Voi provides an essential service to people which is now available to everyone across Bristol, helping them to travel to and from work, see their friends and family, and visit local amenities.”
Cllr Don Alexander, Bristol City Council’s cabinet member for transport, added: “Bristol is already the most popular city in the UK for Voi e-scooters with an estimated three million car journeys replaced to date. This further expansion into south Bristol will boost transport options for even more people across our city and help deliver a modern, sustainable transport mix for Bristol.”
It comes after the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) recently issued a market notice to invite a single or group of companies to bid for a new e-scooter operator contract for Bristol and Bath, after the scheme was extended for a further two years.
Voi’s original contract is set to expire, but it has been agreed it will continue to run scooters in the West Country until a new deal is in place, which is anticipated to be in late spring of next year.
Last month Voi confirmed it has parted ways with two Russian shareholders, after it was warned by West of England metro mayor Dan Norris the company could face losing out on the fresh deal if it did not sever ties.
Voi said it had been “transparent” and maintained neither of the businessmen, who were thought to have had a roughly 4% stake in the firm, had been named on any nation’s list of ‘sanctioned’ Russian oligarchs, owing to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, and both were "anti-Putin supporters".
Weca has said more than 280,000 people have used the e-scooters to make six million journeys across the West of England since 2020.
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