Voi e-scooter safety session to be held in Portsmouth

Voi Scooters which provides the rental e-scooters in docking stations across the city, is hosting a live safety event at the Guidhall Square on Friday (May 28).

During the session participants will receive ride demonstrations and training on how to ride a scooter - including road safety tips developed in partnership with DriveTech - and will be able to redeem credits and a free Voi helmet by completing the online traffic school Ride Like Voila. The online training takes 15 minutes to complete and teaches riders traffic rules, signs and signals, parking, and general tips on how to use the scooter and ride safely.

Jack Samler, general manager at Voi Technology UK and Ireland, said: ‘Our number one priority at Voi is to keep our riders and the wider community safe. E-scooter riders, like those riding bicycles or walking, are vulnerable road users so while we campaign for better infrastructure to protect them we also combine tech, education and design to make our service as safe as possible.

‘We are continually looking at how to improve our vehicles, operations and technology to positively encourage responsible riding habits, whilst taking action against instances of misuse. It is an exciting time for urban transportation and we are thrilled that so many citizens are embracing this form of micro-mobility to travel in a fun, convenient and environmentally-friendly way.’

Other safety events will be held in Northampton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Bath, Cambridge, Oxford and Southampton in the coming months.

The Portsmouth session will run from 10am until 3pm. Participants can sign up to the event via voiscooters.com/safety.

The rental scooters are being provided by Voi as part of a six-month trial funded by the Department for Transport that launched in March this year with 100 scooters available, to be used either as a pay-as-you-go or subscription service.

Scooter users have to be over 18 years old and hold at least a provisional driving licence.

Privately-owned e-scooters remain illegal to use on roads, pavements, parks and any other areas.

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