E-scooters available to hire across the West of England will have a new look this autumn, following a change in provider.
An illustrative mock-up of how the new scooters and bikes could look | Image © WECA
The region’s e-scooters will also be changing colour, from coral to green, and will be branded WESTscoot.
Following trials over the past few years with Voi, the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has negotiated a new contract with a different provider, TIER, that will take over the running of the scooters.
The contract is expected to bring in an estimated £9.7 million to WECA over the next four years.
The money raised will be ring-fenced to be reinvested in future West of England transport improvements.
Other benefits for residents include clauses in the contract to address parking concerns, and 100 brand-new e-scooter parking racks to help keep the fleet tidy.
Alongside 4,000 WESTscoot e-scooters, there will also be 1,500 WESTbike e-bikes, and 20 WESTcargo e-cargo bikes available to hire.
Dan Norris, Metro Mayor of the West of England, said: “WESTscoot must build on the successes of e-scooters in our West of England region which has been one of the most successful trials anywhere in Europe.
“But it must also address the legitimate concerns residents often voice over poor and irresponsible e-scooter parking.
“Given our very ambitious West of England net-zero 2030 target, it is vital that these bright green electric WESTscoot, WESTbike and WESTcargo e-vehicles become a common and welcome sight across our region, for they are an important means to allow residents to reduce car use or give it up completely if they should so choose.
“TIER are extremely keen to do a great job for our brilliant region and I’m pleased about their green credentials as the first micro-mobility company to be fully climate-neutral.
Fred Jones TIER Vice President in Northern Europe, commented: “I believe with WESTscoot, the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority is setting out an important example of how shared electric personal vehicles and existing public transport options can work together to reduce carbon emissions and congestion in our urban centres.
“The expansion of the service to include e-bikes and e-cargo bikes makes it easier for the people of West of England to choose to leave their car at home and pick the perfect vehicle for their journey, whether that is commuting, going to see friends or even doing the weekly shop.
“We are proud to have been selected as the operator for this UK-leading flagship service and look forward to the full launch this autumn.”
Swedish firm Voi, the existing West of England operator, will continue to run the current e-scooter until the autumn.
While welcoming the new contract and the benefits it will bring to taxpayers, Metro Mayor Dan Norris has already expressed concerns that TIER has significant funding from venture firm RTP Global which was founded by entrepreneur Leonid Boguslavsky.
Mr Boguslavsky was listed in the 2018 US Treasury so-called ‘Putin list’ and has been photographed with the Russian president.
Mr Norris said: “There has been a rigorous procurement process under current laws. I, of course, appreciate that in a global world, international companies have investment from far and wide.
“But I find it troubling officials tell me we have to shrug this off and legally cannot delve into such ethical challenges.
“That’s why I wrote to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to say that given the current illegal and bloody Russian war in Ukraine, could the Government again look into contracts regulation.”
A spokesperson from RTP Global said: “RTP Global invests in early-stage startups in the US, Europe and Asia and has offices in New York, London, Paris, Dubai and Bangalore.
“RTP Global does not invest in Russia nor does it have offices in Russia. The capital for the firm’s funds derive from the reinvestment of its proceeds from previous investments; one in 10 companies the firm has previously invested in have become multi-billion dollar businesses and include tech companies such as Datadog, DeliveryHero, and Cred.
“The vast majority of the founder’s net worth was created from tech investments in US, Europe and Asia and RTP Global has never received an investment from a Russian institution.”
Regarding the US Treasury list from 2018, the spokesperson said: “As confirmed by the U.S. Department of Treasury itself, this is ‘not a sanctions list and the inclusion of individuals […] does not and in no way should be interpreted to impose sanctions on those individuals.’
“Leonid Boguslavsky is also not included in the “List of Oligarchs” who have ties with the Russian government.
“To draw up this list, Congress required the Secretary of the Treasury to designate individuals who qualify as ‘Russian oligarchs’.
“When creating the list, the qualification of ‘oligarch’ was defined as a person having an estimated net worth of $1 billion or more. As a well-recognized investor in technology companies, and having featured in the annual Forbes’ billionaire list, Leonid was included in this list created by the U.S. Treasury in 2018.
“Leonid does not have any ties with the Russian government and has never received an investment from a Russian institution. He holds Canadian citizenship and lives in Italy.”
