Man in charge of Voi scooter scheme in Northampton issues update after vowing to 'get tough' on dodgy riders

Councillor Phil Larratt, in charge of highways and transport at West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), has said the council continues to work with Voi and police to hold the controversial Voi scooter scheme to account.

At WNC’s full council meeting in July, Labour councillor Muna Cali asked Conservative councillor Larratt: “Why is it the public and I still see two or three people riding on them? Are you properly holding them to account?”

In response, Councillor Larratt strongly said: “We did have a scrutiny review into Voi scooters. There were recommendations that came out of that, which talk about continual monitoring and how we will deal with things if they do not improve.

"All I can say is, we need to know. I still see people riding around 'two-up,' I still see people riding on the pavement. There are issues, supposedly technical, that they are supposed to be developing solutions for. Yes, I still get complaints about the abandonment, and I don’t mean parking, I mean abandonment of these scooters. We’ve made it very clear that unless Voi addresses these issues, we will take action and terminate the arrangement. If YOU provide the evidence...I will have no hesitation in initiating that termination process.

"The people of Northampton, to a great extent, have had enough, particularly with the parking issues. I think it’s time we get tough with them [Voi]. And let’s get tough now. Please, give us the evidence."

Chronicle & Echo has seen dangerous scooter use and has also reported on poor parking of scooters in the town centre since Cllr Larratt’s promise of a crackdown, notably one young man riding in the middle of Wellingborough Road doing ‘wheelies’ towards oncoming traffic and another instance of scattered parking up Bridge Street.

Asking for an update on “getting tough” with Voi, Councillor Larratt says a “roadmap has been created to address safety concerns”.

He said: “Riding on pavements is strictly prohibited for e-scooters and there are offences and penalties for using an e-scooter illegally. Voi employs a variety of measures to identify misuse and block users responsible. We encourage people to report any misuse of a Voi e-scooter in Northampton to them, along with a photo of where it was parked. This will help them verify if it was parked responsibly and take appropriate action.

"Following feedback from the public, key partner organisations, and recommendations from the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee earlier this year, a roadmap was created to address safety concerns and ensure that the scheme continues to provide a sustainable and affordable mode of transport.

"During the scrutiny process, Voi agreed to implement several measures to overcome the problems raised by our residents and businesses, and as a council we are continuing to work with Northamptonshire Police and support Voi in resolving these issues. We may look to review the outcomes of this process."

In May, a WNC scrutiny group tasked with assessing the effectiveness of the scheme made a recommendation, which was later passed, for the trial to continue into 2026, on the condition that a roadmap of improvements was made.

Some of the suggestions to crack down on inappropriate use of the scooters can be found here.

A Voi spokeswoman recently said: “Inconsiderate parking and anti-social riding is unacceptable. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused to local businesses by inconsiderately parked or ridden scooters. The vast majority of our riders in Northampton, who use our scooters to commute to work and education or to visit the town centre, follow the rules. We take action against riders who break the rules, including issuing bans and fines.

"Anyone who spots inconsiderate parking can report it to us via report.voi.com or email [email protected] so we can investigate and take action quickly. Our team regularly visit Northampton town centre to ensure a tidy fleet.”

On the young man pulling wheelies in Wellingborough Road, they said: “Anti-social riding is unacceptable. We are committed to providing customers a sustainable, affordable and safe travel option.

“We’ve already taken action against the rider. Anyone who spots dangerous riding can report it to us via report.voi.com or email [email protected] so we can investigate and take action quickly.”