Voi e-scooter trial
A Voi scooter in use
The Voi e-scooter trial forms part of the Future Transport Zone being pursued by B&NES in collaboration with the West of England Combined Authority. The trial provides hop-on/hop-off e-scooters in Bath, enabling alternative ways of getting around the city. The trial started in October 2020 and in its first year saw 2.5 million rides across the West of England. The 12-month trial has been extended to March 2022.
Following a successful launch within Bath, the operating area was expanded to include Oldfield Park and Bathwick. When first introduced, the scheme included 50 scooters in Bath, but given the success of the trial this has now doubled to 100. In Bath, there have been 104,000 rides and 262,500km travelled by scooters.
Upon completion of the trial, the DfT, Combined Authority and B&NES, in conjunction with Voi, decide on the future of e-scooters in the region.
Delivery timescales: Implemented
Other themes supported:
Go Ultra Low West
This initiative seeks to encourage widespread use of electric cars, vans and bikes. The West of England contains more than 300 public-use charge points and this is growing. Through Go Ultra Low West over 120 new charge point connections are being installed to significantly increase the size of the current public charging network.
Backed and owned by the three West of England local authorities and North Somerset Council, using in-depth local knowledge and direct feedback from residents, the Revive network has been created to meet the public charging needs of the region. Revive offers a mix of 50kW rapid chargers, together with 7kW and 22kW fast chargers. Plans are also in place to provide a Rapid Electric Vehicle Charging hub in central Bath that will allow drivers to recharge their cars in minutes rather than hours.
We are working with West of England car club providers to install charging points for electric car club vehicles, so that those people who don’t need a car all the time can still benefit from electric technology. We also provide 50% match funding for charge points to be installed in businesses as part of the Go Ultra Low West initiative.
West of England residents were offered the opportunity to try out an electric vehicle (EV) for two weeks, for only the cost of the electricity used. This gave people the full experience of using an EV, helping people to feel more confident about switching to an EV in the future. From February 2018 to April 2021, a total of 144 EV loans were completed, with drivers covering 40,680 zero-emission miles. 61% of participants planned to buy an EV within two years.
Delivery timescales: Implemented
Other themes supported: