E-mobility provider Voi has said that London has the worst e-scooter scheme out of more than 100 European cities where the company operates and is calling on Transport for London (TfL) to take action.
The company’s CEO and co-founder Fredrik Hjelm said the heavily regulated e-scooter trials cannot compete with the capital’s rental e-bikes, which are unregulated with e-bike companies able to deploy as many bikes as they like, wherever they like.
He says Voi may have no option other than to withdraw from the trial or deploy 20,000 e-bikes to level the playing field and is calling for an urgent meeting with Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
In a letter to Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, and TfL Fredrik outlined the two options left to his company:
- Withdraw from the city, effectively signalling the failure and end of the TfL-led e-scooter scheme, and creating an effective monopoly for a single operator.
- This summer, Voi invests in and deploy 20,000 e-bikes across London.
The e-scooter scheme is only available in nine London boroughs and the City of London, has too few parking spots and is hampered by no-go and slow-go zones – whereas e-bikes operate with very little regulation on where they can be ridden or parked, Fredrick also claimed.
CEO and co-founder of Voi Fredrik Hjelm said: “I am sure you will agree that micromobility is crucial to reduce dependency on cars and to increase sustainable and accessible forms of transport. It also plays a major role in improving London’s air quality.
“We were thrilled to launch in London last September to support this goal. However, we are increasingly concerned about the direction of micromobility in London.
“E-scooters have been extremely successful in cities across the UK and the rest of Europe. Of the 100-plus towns and cities Voi operates in, London is the lowest-performing due to a heavily regulated trial that cannot compete with largely unregulated rental e-bikes. Urgent action is required to address this.”
Achievements and innovations in e-mobility will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
