E-scooters arrived in the county in September 2020, at the height of the Covid Pandemic. Not surprisingly, their arrival was overshadowed by the rising death toll from SARS-Cov-2.
They were part of a government initiative to “fast-track e-scooter trials across the UK.” The aim was to provide residents with a safer means of travel as well as reduce emissions.
At the time, it was lauded as assisting
“with the sustainable reopening of the economy and transport systems as the country emerges from the Covid-19 lockdown.”
With the benefit of hindsight, that seems to have been slightly optimistic.
In fact, there were further lockdowns and Covid went through many further waves, killing tens of millions around the world.
However, unlike Covid, the Voi experiment has not faded away. Instead, it has been extended until May 2028.
Voi scooters are now a common sight in Higham Ferrers, Rushden, and Wellingborough.
A spokesperson for North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) said the trial’s extension meant further investment in the service.
“Currently about 40% of journeys are work-related and we hope to see this figure increase as more residents switch to this method of travel.”
They further said that NNC remained
“committed to working with Voi and the police to ensure the scheme is safe for all road users”.
Meanwhile, insurance company QBE used the Freedom-of-Information Act to investigate fires caused by E-bikes and E-scooters. They discovered that nationally E-bikes and E-scooters were the cause of 520 lithium-ion battery fires in 2025, three times the number in 2022.
London Fire Brigade’s Deputy Commissioner for Prevention, Protection and Operational policy, Spencer Sutcliff, said:
“We are extremely concerned around the issue of e-bike and e-scooter fires and the devastating impact these fires can have on lives and livelihoods.”
