Voi electric scooters in Leeds: how will it work?

You are 21 times more likely to die in Leeds because of air pollution than being hit by a car, according to a shocking recent report.
Ad Feature by Voi
Published 13th Aug 2020, 13:57 BST
E-scooters can help people to travel around with social distancing, at a time when people are concerned about entering crowded trains and buses.E-scooters can help people to travel around with social distancing, at a time when people are concerned about entering crowded trains and buses.
E-scooters can help people to travel around with social distancing, at a time when people are concerned about entering crowded trains and buses.

Data from Centre by Cities found that one in every 22 deaths among adults in the region can be linked to high emission levels, and with an estimated 300 people in Leeds each year; the days of us relying on our cars have to be numbered.

According to one firm, it’s time for Leeds to embrace the next-generation of transport; the electric generation. And it has launched an ambitious bid to supply the scheme to the city.

Europe’s largest, fastest growing and safest electric scooter company Voi Technology has already proven just how revolutionary e-scooters and e-bikes can be in cutting congestion, cutting pollution and cutting commuting times by a staggering 70%.

E-scooters can help tackle congestion and air pollutionE-scooters can help tackle congestion and air pollution
E-scooters can help tackle congestion and air pollution

Having revolutionised how people travel around 45+ European cities – from Stockholm to Berlin, Zurich and Marseille – the Swedish firm has now arrived in the UK. It now has three e-scooter models approved by the UK’s Department for Transport and has recently won the UK's first major competitive tender to exclusively bring e-scooters to Cambridge. Now it would like to do the same in Leeds and West Yorkshire and is bidding to launch its scheme here.

Voi’s UK GM Richard Corbett said: “E-scooters can help people to travel around with social distancing, at a time when people are concerned about entering crowded trains and buses. Safety is always our top priority and we are taking extra measures to make our e-scooters covid-safe, including extra cleaning and using Copper-Tape tape on handlebars, designed to kill 99.98% of coronavirus on contact.

“Not only can e-scooters alleviate the strain on public transport at this time, we expect that increasingly they will be preferred over short car trips, reducing congestion and pollution in urban areas.”

Why Leeds is the best place for e-scooters

Richard believes Leeds is well-positioned to benefit from e-scooters and it’s also one of the regions of the UK that needs them the most.

The region was among the first in the UK to introduce zero-emission, fully electric double-decker buses, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been campaigning for clean air zones for years. These initiatives are working towards the region becoming carbon neutral by 2030, a campaign which is now more crucial than ever.

This is because Leeds is one of the worst places for air pollution in the country. In fact, data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) lists Leeds as one of 31 towns and cities in the UK with unsafe levels of air pollution.

It sits in 10th place, higher than London, Hull, Middlesbrough and Wigan, and this goes hand-in-hand with the fact Leeds is the 15th most congested city in the UK, with a typical rush hour journey taking 27% longer than other times of the day.

E-scooters can tackle each of these problems in one fell swoop.

An independent assessment of Voi’s latest e-scooter model, by consultants EY, recently found it produces emission levels 70% lower than previous figures had suggested.

And when it uses cargo bikes to charge swappable batteries at street level, it makes a huge difference to the sustainability of this new form of traffic.

With a speed of 15.5mph, e-scooters and bikes could help Leeds residents complete short journeys far quicker than in cars, with fewer emissions and fewer costs.

When used in conjunction with public transport for longer journeys, e-scooters can even cut commute times by up to a staggering 70%. What’s more, when people who can embrace micro mobility take their cars off the road, those who have no choice to drive reap the benefits of less traffic, less congestion and more parking.

Voi Technology’s pledge to Leeds

As Europe’s most responsible and safest e-scooter provider, a Voi spokesman said they want to assure people across Leeds and the wider West Yorkshire region – those riding our scooters and those who aren’t – that they put safety first.

We continue to invest in educating riders through our online traffic school, Voila – the only one of its kind to be certified across the whole of Europe. We will only put enough scooters on the streets to satisfy demand. We will make sure users act responsibly and incentivise them to park correctly.

Voi: a true partner to Leeds

Richard added: “It’s your region and we will do everything we can to cater for your needs, whether it’s helping healthcare workers get to hospitals or making it easier for a teacher to get to school. We want to work with local businesses to help people to get back to work and to near-normal life.

“Partnership has been our watchword throughout Europe and it will be the same in Leeds”.

For more information about Voi Technology, visit the Voi web page or download the Voi app.