Voi e-scooters boost local economies by £53 million, according to new study

Voi’s e-scooter schemes have contributed £53 million to the economy in 2022, and have helped support 1,400 jobs, according to a new independent study.

The new report, commissioned by Swedish micromobility brand Voi, is an independent study exploring the socio-economic benefits of shared e-scooters.  

Carried out by Volterra Partners, the study found that Voi’s e-scooters provided an estimated £37 million boost to the UK high street, enabling visit to stores and retails parks.  

Voi’s shared e-scooters can be found in 17 towns and cities across the UK, including Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Oxford and Southampton. In the two years since the rental trials launched, Voi riders have taken over 16 million trips – amounting to 24 million miles. By the end of this year, it is estimated that Voi’s presence will have removed at least 6 million independent car trips from the road. 

Matthew Pencharz, head of policy in the UK and Ireland at Voi, said: “Since we launched our first e-scooter scheme in August 2020, we’ve seen incredible rider adoption, enabling people to use affordable, sustainable transport in their daily lives and spreading the benefits of micromobility across the UK.

“This research gives us evidence that we are achieving what we set out to do at Voi – creating cities made for living by encouraging people to get out of their houses and cars and experience their local areas – and at the same time reducing the harmful effects of powering transport with fossil fuels.

“We’re only scratching the surface of what is possible with micromobility in the UK. Hopefully, more people will get to enjoy the economic and sustainability benefits of shared e-scooters beyond 2024.” 

The research shows that e-scooters are helping to boost food and drink spending at cafes, pubs and restaurants by more than a third (36%). When it comes to food and beverage spending alone, Voi’s e-scooters are expected to lead to a £106 million boost during the four-year trial period, rising to £1.2 billion over the next 60 years in these areas. 

An estimated £8.7 million is expected to be redistributed to the high street from out-of-centre retail parks and online shopping in 2022 because of Voi’s e-scooters, as up to 0.7% of all shopping trips in the trial areas are estimated to be facilitated by shared e-scooter rides. 

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said: “E-scooters are now an important part of our city’s modern, sustainable transport mix. It’s encouraging to see the impact they are having on Bristol’s local economy: giving many of our residents the freedom to hop on and off across the city, enabling them to get to work, study and leisure destinations.

“We are living in a climate emergency. E-scooters, along with walking, cycling and public transport, offer realistic alternatives for day-to-day car use and will help us reduce air pollution and carbon emissions.”

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Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK, a national body dedicated to promoting the public benefit of shared transport, said: “We are pleased to see this insight into the economic and growth impacts of shared e-scooter operations. The schemes’ popularity and ability to provide low-carbon transport options have been well demonstrated, so it is exciting to see research such as this investigating the others aspect of the scheme’s benefits.”