A milestone for the UK e-scooter sharing market has been reached as over 10,000 scooters are now available for short-term hire on the streets of 50 towns and cities.
The news comes just less than 10 months after the first fleet of 25 Ginger e-scooters launched in Middlesbrough. Zag data and estimates reveal that the cities leading the charge are:
- Liverpool: 1,500 scooters
- Bristol: 1,200 scooters
- Birmingham: 1,200 scooters
- Northampton: 900 scooters
- Cambridge: 400 scooters
Swedish company Voi continues to dominate the UK market, with just over 60% of the UK’s shared scooters in the company’s distinctive salmon pink across 15 towns and cities. In addition, it has several hundred more scooters available for monthly hire in Bristol, Bath and Barnstaple.
Zag analysis suggests many operators are stepping up their fleets in the last couple of weeks. This includes most of the Voi locations, as well as Spin in Chelmsford and Clacton, Lime in Milton Keynes and Salford, Neuron in Sunderland, Zipp in Aylesbury and High Wycombe, Beryl in Bournemouth, Tier in York and Ginger in Great Yarmouth.
The only operations that appear to be gradually scaling down are the smaller fleets in Stafford, Middlesbrough and Milton Keynes operated by Ginger. This may be normal attrition as e-scooters which are being heavily used will need maintenance or replacement.
There have been no launches in the last four weeks, as the local election purdah puts a freeze on announcements and the Department of Transport target trial date has passed, however the London tender results are expected to be confirmed in May.
While there are occasional sporadic reports of poor riding and overcrowding in some parking hotspots, the trials appear to be a great success so far. Zag’s data-driven model suggests between 20,000 and 30,000 journeys per day are now happening on the e-scooters – and the numbers are only set to increase as summer approaches.
E-scooters are now making a real contribution to mobility options in many UK towns and cities.