Voi still refusing to respond to safety concerns surrounding ‘snapping’ e-scooters in Northampton

The company behind a controversial e-scooter trial in Northampton is still refusing to respond to direct questions about safety concerns relating to the “snapping” of its vehicles.

Following a Chronicle & Echo story last week about a man who smashed his head against a kerb and spent the night in hospital after the neck of his Voi scooter “snapped”, a number of other reports have been made on social media about similar issues happening to other scooters across the town.

One reader commented: “Someone I know had one of these snap in half only two weeks ago resulting in a broken arm and cuts and grazes.”

Another added: “I saw one at the top of Rushmere Road this morning with the handlebar broken.”

Following the overall safety concerns story, Voi sent this newspaper a statement saying “safety is our first priority” and “we frequently inspect our fleet to maintain it to the highest standards”.

The specific concerns around “snapping” were not addressed.

When that article was posted on Chronicle & Echo’s social media, a number of comments from readers came to light suggesting what the issues could be, which have now been deleted.

These claims were once again put to the company. Despite the claims being more specific and several direct questions being asked, the firm has still not responded to the issue. Again, it has issued a generic comment.

Voi says safety checks have been “stepped up” in Northampton and that they are “confident” they are “ensuring the safety of our riders”. However, this confidence does not appear to be reflected by riders, some of whom have told us they will “never” ride a Voi scooter again.

A spokesman said: “Safety is our number one priority and we take any incident involving our riders and vehicles extremely seriously. Whenever we hear of an incident regarding our e-scooters, we urgently investigate, collect all necessary information, and take appropriate action.

"As part of our operational practices, we frequently inspect our fleet to ensure it is maintained to the highest standards. At this time, our experienced mechanics have stepped up checks on our fleet in Northampton. Riders should be assured that we will always do whatever we can to ensure the safety of our riders and all road users and we are confident we are.

"Voi’s mission is to change transport for good in our cities, and we are always listening to our riders and city partners, striving to make our services as safe as possible.”

Voi first launched the e-scooters in Northampton in September 2020 but it has since been extended to other areas of the county, including Corby, Rushden Higham Ferrers, Wellingborough and Kettering. Kettering also had e-bikes introduced into the town.

The Voi trial was initially due to last one year, however earlier this year it was announced that the trials have been extended until November 2022.