Northamptonshire’s e-scooter journey so far

As the number of e-scooter trips in Northamptonshire heads towards half a million we look at the green scheme that is proving to be a hot topic

By Sarah Ward

A voi scooter station in Northampton

In September of last year the first electric scooters took to the streets of Northampton. 300 of the now distinctive orange Voi scooters were stationed at hubs across the county town, in the first UK trial in the county. As part of its Smart Move Northamptonshire Scheme, the then county council heralded the initiative, which allows users to rent a scooter for a low cost and use it to navigate across the town. Its green credentials and the way it could reduce car dependency was lauded by the local authority as a new mode of smarter, more eco travel.

Since then the e-scooters have been rolled out to Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Higham Ferrers and Rushden and there could be more on the horizon if the 12 month pilot is deemed a success.

Controversy

To date Voi, the Swedish company that runs the Northamptonshire scheme, says there have been 34,500 unique users of their scooters in Northamptonshire, with over 468,450 rides and more than 89…