Thirteen e-scooter riders issued 'permanent suspensions' in Northampton

The electric scooter trial aims to give commuters, particularly shift workers, more flexibility in their journeys to and from work
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Northamptonshire Police, Voi and Northamptonshire County Council are hosting weekly meetings to chat about issues with e-scooters as 13 riders have been permanently suspended.

Since the e-scooter scheme started on September 3, three people have been issued temporary suspensions of their Voi account, 13 have been issued permanent suspensions and 54 people have been stopped and given words of advice.

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The scooters are paid for by the minute via an app and have been placed in busy locations such as the train station, bus station and the university campus, in a bid to encourage bus, taxi or car users to jump on a scooter instead.

The e-scooters are on trial for 12 months, as of September 3.The e-scooters are on trial for 12 months, as of September 3.
The e-scooters are on trial for 12 months, as of September 3.

Following a backlash from the public, Voi have introduced visible number plates for the e-scooters, a curfew when the scooters will stop working, and a system whereby nuisance riders are unable to access any of the scooters.

The main concerns over the schemeincludes underage riders and the dangers e-scooters pose to pedestrians when they are illegally ridden on pavements.

PC Dave Lee from Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team, said: “When these scooters were initially introduced into the town centre, it is fair to say that we were getting quite a lot of reports regarding people misusing them.

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“However, since the trial has progressed, we have been able to work with Voi to iron out some of these initial issues and ensure that the right people are using the scooters for the right reasons, as well as ensuring there is a system in place to enforce against nuisance riders.”

Voi ambassadors pictured in Northampton town centre on launch day, September 3.Voi ambassadors pictured in Northampton town centre on launch day, September 3.
Voi ambassadors pictured in Northampton town centre on launch day, September 3.

Northamptonshire Police, the council and Voi now have weekly meetings to discuss any issues that have arisen as well as any changes any of the three agencies think need to be implemented.

PC Lee added: “This scheme has some great potential and we have already been hearing positive stories from commuters and other members of the public about how the scooters have had a positive impact on their lives.

“We will be carrying out operations in partnership with Voi and the council to ensure that people are using these scooters in the correct manner and to enforce against those who aren’t.”

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Lucy Yu, of Voi, said: “In response to the early observations of the service in Northampton, we swiftly introduced market leading innovations, such as adding number plates on all scooters to identify riders, capping rides at 12.5mph and deploying more ambassadors on the streets to help people and monitor activity.

“As a result, we're already seeing improvements and we'll continue to work closely to identify further service enhancements. To date, more than 8000 riders and nearly 60,000 rides have taken place and we expect many other riders to adhere and experience this new carbon-neutral way of travelling around town."

Councillor Jason Smithers, Cabinet Member for Highways and Place for Northamptonshire County Council said: “Northamptonshire is committed to improving access to greener, more sustainable, more affordable transport for the benefit of everyone and the Voi e-scooter partnership has been a step in the right direction for achieving this. Since the launch of the e-scooters, nearly 60,000 rides have taken place in the local area, with nearly 70% of rides carried out by repeat customers – an indication that uptake has been very successful. Additionally, 26 jobs have been created through the trial.

“Of course, we always welcome feedback from our residents and are taking their thoughts into account when it comes to areas of improvement. Various measures, such as more “slow speed zones”, a curfew between 10pm and 4am, alerts on the Voi app (reminding users of the rules) and the addition of registration plates have already been introduced in response to concerns raised.

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“We are continuing to work closely with Voi, Northamptonshire Police and the borough council to identify where further improvements can be made and to also remove any individuals who are not adhering to the rules.”