Voi selected for pilot project in UK West Midlands
The Swedish electric scooter rental company Voi was selected for an exclusive pilot project with up to 10,000 e-scooters in the British West Midlands.
Voi will make the kickscooters initially available in Birmingham and Coventry, followed by Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Warwickshire shortly. In Birmingham and Coventry, 200 electric scooters will be available on Thursday, 10 September.
Unlocking the vehicles will cost one pound, the ride itself will cost 20 pence per minute. Alternatively, for £40 a month, users will be able to drive for an unlimited period.
Voi won a preliminary bidding process by the Transport for West Midlands committee. The 10,000 e-scooter project is based on a UK Department of Transportation bill to accelerate the introduction of e-scooter testing across the country to help revive the economy and transport systems in a sustainable way after the Covid-19 shock. According to Voi, the major contract will create 120 jobs and the business area covers a catchment area of 5.9 million inhabitants.
Voi opened its first e-scooter rental service in 2018 and is now active in 45 cities in eleven countries. Just a few days ago, the company presented a new model, the Voiager 4, which, according to the Swedes, has been further developed, especially in terms of safety. It has turn signals, a higher level of connectivity and GPS technology, “that enables scooters to be tracked to within one-meter accuracy.” Built-in AI components should also make it possible to better predict necessary servicing and maintenance in order to have more functioning e-scooters on the road.
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