New parking rules for Liverpool’s e-scooters mean riders in the city will only be able to leave vehicles in specifically marked zones from today.
Voi, which operates the e-scooter system under an agreement with Liverpool Council, said today in a message to customers that the move would help the system operate more effectively and keep pavements and roads clear.
It is one of a series of changes made in recent months to the system amid the hugely increased popularity of e-scooters in Liverpool, accompanied with a number of serious complaints about safety following a number of incidents.
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In a message to customers, Voi said: “At Voi, safety is our number one priority. It’s our mission to make the streets safe for everybody.
“From today, (August 2nd), you’ll only be able to park our e-scooters in a Mandatory Parking Zone (MPZ).
“Right now, you’ve got over 800 Mandatory Parking Zones to choose from, across the city! And many more are going up every week.”
The other changesincluded as part of a strengthening of Voi’s rules include a recent bolstering of the three strike system governing riders.
The punishments for these strikes, which riders are hit with for breaking certain rules, now include:
- After 1 strike users will now receive a 7 day ban and be required to complete the online riding school, RideLikeVoila
- After 2 strikes users will receive a 30 day ban
- After 3 strikes users will receive a permanent ban
For parking violations, Voi’s rules sees a first rule break sees a rider sent a warning, with their second bringing a £25 pound fine.
In addition to the rules, Voi also encourages riders to take courses run by company instructors to become familiar with how to ride e-scooters safely.
As scooters available through a public scheme, Voi’s e-scooters are legal to ride on public routes in the UK.
However, there has also been a rise in privately-owned e-scooters which can not be legally rode out in public.
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