Voi scooters: Bristol councillor claims 'serious problems' with trial

The scooters are available for hire in Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire

An e-scooter trial in Bristol is causing "new hazards and nuisance" and should be stopped, it has been claimed.

Conservatives on the city council said there would be "chaos" if the Voi scheme was made permanent and private electric scooters were legalised.

Mayor Marvin Rees said he expects e-scooters to become a "permanent feature".

Voi has previously said only a "small minority" of riders do not comply with its safety guidance.

Led by the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), the scheme has seen the scooters available for hire in Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire.

Weca claims scooters have replaced more than 370,000 car journeys since the trial began last October.

Mr Rees wants the trial to be extended until the end of March.

Voi scooters are also being trialled in other UK cities

But Tory councillor Lesley Alexander said "serious problems" with the experiment have emerged.

In a motion tabled ahead of a full council meeting later, she said: "[Bristol City] Council is conscious of increasing complaints around road and pedestrian safety, an apparent lack of policing or enforcement, silent scooters being ridden on pavements to create new hazards and nuisance as well as clutter where motors are simply discarded in a haphazard fashion.

"In addition, doubts remain over whether e-scooters are as good for the environment as proponents claim or that this kind of 'active' travel is really something that should be encouraged."

Councillor Alexander's motion calls on Mr Rees not to extend the trial beyond its planned finish at the end of October.

Vote needed

It also asks that all elected members be given an opportunity to vote on whether to make the scheme permanent.

And it calls on the mayor to oppose any moves by government to make it legal for private e-scooters to be used in public spaces such as roads and pavements.

The motion cites recent research from dashcam company Nextbase suggesting e-scooters will be involved in up to 200,000 accidents in the UK by the end of this year.

The goal of the regional trial is to reduce car travel and increase active travel, but Weca admitted Voi e-scooter journeys have actually replaced more walks than car journeys so far.

Crime records published by Avon and Somerset Police showed that of 237 incidents involving e-scooters in Bristol, only nine were related to the Voi trial.

The rest involved privately-owned e-scooters.