Voi confirmed to continue as successful operator for e-scooters in Oxford

European micro-mobility company Voi Technology Ltd has been chosen to continue delivering the e-scooter trial in Oxford. The national e-scooter trial, funded by the Department for Transport, is planned to finish at the end of May 2024.

Oxfordshire County Council oversaw a recent procurement exercise to select the provider for Oxford’s trial e-scooter programme from 1 June 2023 until 31 May 2024. The exercise invited competitive applications from prospective providers to ensure the programme continues to deliver the best service at zero cost to the council.

Successful bidder Voi has been at the helm of operating Oxford’s e-scooter programme since it began in Headington in 2021 with 25 e-scooters, before expanding more widely across the city. There are now over 750 Voi e-scooters available for hire in Oxford and they have been used to travel more than a combined one million miles through the city’s historic streets.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “The e-scooter trial has had a very positive reception across Oxford, and we are delighted to share that we will be continuing our partnership with Voi until the end of May 2024.

“E-scooters are affordable and easy to use for short trips. This helps us to put greener and more sustainable transport at the heart of our priority to address climate impact. And now that e-scooters can be used 24/7, they can help keep our busy city running more smoothly.”

Jack Samler, Regional General Manager for Voi UK, Ireland and France, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen to continue providing an e-scooter service in Oxford. Over the last two years we’ve worked closely with Oxfordshire County Council to provide an e-scooter service which works for the whole of the city.     

“We are continuing to see e-scooters grow in popularity across the city as more and more people enjoy the benefits of this affordable, easy-to-use, reliable and sustainable form of transport.”

Oxford’s trial e-scooters have over 62,000 registered users. Scooters have been also provided to Oxford City Angels, a project supporting women’s safety around the city on Saturday nights. Ongoing monitoring shows that peak use of e-scooters is for short work trips on weekdays, and for social trips on weekends.

Notes to editors:

• More about the Oxford e-scooter trial can be found on the county council’s website. 
• The scheme is closely monitored, and irresponsible or unsafe use of the e-scooters is enforced with user bans from Voi – the county council’s operating partner. Incidents of bad riding practices are well managed and 0.02% of total Voi account holders (UK-wide) have been blocked.
• The public hire e-scooters operate 24 hour since October 2022 – subject to their continued safe, responsible and lawful use.

Ends

For more information about this release contact the Oxfordshire County Council communications team on 01865 323870 or email press.office@oxfordshire.gov.uk