Residents and visitors will soon be able to get around the West of England on e-scooters.

Voi Technology Ltd will be making hop-on hop-off e-scooters available in Bristol and Bath to help residents and visitors to get around central areas. E-scooters will also be available at other key locations in South Gloucestershire such as stations, university campuses, hospitals and large employment sites.

The twelve-month e-scooter trial is being led by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) in partnership with B&NES, Bristol and South Gloucestershire Councils.

West of England Mayor, Tim Bowles, said: “I’m really pleased to announce Voi Technology Ltd will be getting our region moving as the operator for our e-scooter trials. This is an exciting prospect, bringing a new, low carbon way to travel around the region, and making it accessible for every community.

“It’s a great opportunity to understand how they might help support my longer-term sustainable transport ambitions, including our transformational MetroWest rail system and regional Mass Transit.”

Fredrik Hjelm, co-founder and CEO of Voi Technology, said: “Voi will soon be coming to Bristol and Bath and we couldn’t be more excited about it. The pandemic has created a major transportation problem that Voi is helping to solve, as we need a climate and COVID-friendly alternative to a car-led ‘recovery’.

Rental e-scooters on the trial will be capped to a maximum speed of 15.5 mph. Geofencing technology will allow slower speed restrictions to be imposed in defined areas, which will be identified in collaboration with the police, the operator, and stakeholder groups such as equalities groups. VOI has the ability to restrict or bar non-compliant users.

The West of England is one of four Future Transport Zones that will trial the use of innovative technologies to make it easier to find sustainable ways to travel around the West of England.