Liverpool Council has signed a deal to extend its deal with Swedish firm Voi until at least next year as a wider trial across the country continues. The electric hire scooters have become a regular sight throughout the city centre and further afield for the past three years as part of a trial scheme commissioned by the Department for Transport .
The colourful scooters adopted areas from the city council following the closure of its CityBike scheme. A local authority cabinet report in 2022 said the size of the CityBike scheme reduced year on year, due to theft and vandalism, coupled with a lack of available funding to invest in new bikes. A report discussed by council members on Wednesday said the trials are necessary to allow e-scooters to be ridden on the public highway, otherwise e-scooters can only be ridden on private land with the permission of the landowner – they cannot be used in public places, including roads, pavements, parks or cycle lanes. The original deadline for the end of the trials was November 2021, before being extended until March 2022 to take into account the slower start as a result of the pandemic.