Tier has relaunched the UK’s largest e-scooter scheme covering the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) having won the tender from Voi earlier this year.
WECA includes Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
A fleet of 500 green shared e-scooters and e-bikes is now live in Bath.
The fleet will steadily rise to almost 8,000 across WECA, comprising 4,000 e-scooters, 1,500 e-bikes, over 2,000 long term rental e-bikes and 20 cargo bikes.
Zag spoke with George Chamberlain, Tier’s Senior Corporate Communications Manager for Northern Europe at the company’s launch event in Bath today, who said: “Our launch in Bath is the first step in what will become Tier’s largest operation in the UK.
“The uptake of our service on day one has been even better than we had expected with over 6,000 minutes of trips taken already.
“The last three years have shown that micromobility is a great fit for the region and we are looking forward to working with the West of England Combined Authority, Bath and North East Somerset and Bristol City Council to make the service bigger and better than it has ever been.”
Overall the contract is expected to bring in excess of £9 million to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority over four years with the money raised being ring-fenced to be reinvested in future West of England transport improvements.
Teaming up with The Big Issue
Chamberlain said that Tier has partnered with social enterprise The Big Issue to support anyone with barriers to employment that can help run the micromobility firm’s operations.
“We are now working on ramping up our operational partnership with The Big Issue as we get ready to launch in Bristol next month which will eventually bring the full fleet size up to almost 8,000 vehicles.”
The Big Issue seeks to provide job opportunities and training for long-term unemployed people – previously it ran its own Big Issue bike share scheme in Bristol but this ended due to high rates of vandalism.
Tier’s e-bike 3 and Tier 6
The new service comprises Tier’s latest e-bike 3 and Tier 6 shared e-scooter that both feature a portrait phone holder, integrated wireless charging, GPS tracking, orange highlighted touchpoints and an integrated cable lock to prevent hacking.
Users will be able to rent the e-bikes through the Tier app available on iOS and android, and first-time riders will benefit from one free unlock and 15 minutes of free riding time. Normal Pay-as-you-Go pricing will be 99p to unlock the bike and then 16p per minute.
There is also a range of passes including a £4 daily Commute Pass offering 30 minutes riding time, as well as a range of other daily and monthly passes.
Councillor Sarah Warren, Bath and North East Somerset Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel, said: “The introduction of e-bikes and soon to be e-cargo bikes to the e-scooter system will be popular for a wider range of people, and for longer distances.
“There will be a short period of adjustment between the two schemes, and we ask users and prospective users to be patient as Tier works to make sure this operation is safe, convenient and considered for all road users. We are also setting up a new mailbox where people can send us any suggested improvements regarding the service, such as amendments to parking areas or new parking areas, expansion areas for the service etc.”
The new mailbox for comments and suggestions will be micromobility@bathnes.gov.uk.
