Bristol's e-scooters are going green as West of England Mayoral Combined Authority negotiates new contract

Published by

Peter Davison

Bristol's e-scooters are changing from orange to green after the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority's contract with Voi expired and the body chose Tier as its new service provider.

Under the deal the scooters will be branded WESTscoot from the autumn.

The contract is expected to bring in £10 million to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority over four years – becoming one of the first schemes to bring revenue into a region.

The money raised will be ring-fenced to be reinvested in future West of England transport improvements. Other benefits for residents include clauses in the contract to address parking concerns, and 100 brand-new e-scooter parking racks to help keep the fleet tidy.

Alongside 4,000 WESTscoot e-scooters, Tier will provide 1,500 new pedal-only e-bikes and 20 e-cargo bikes – large bikes specially designed to carry goods which will particularly appeal to local businesses.

Dan Norris, Metro Mayor of the West of England, said: “WESTscoot must build on the successes of e-scooters in our West of England region which has been one of the most successful trials anywhere in Europe.

"But it must also address the legitimate concerns residents often voice over poor and irresponsible e-scooter parking.

"Given our very ambitious West of England net-zero 2030 target, it is vital that these bright green electric WESTscoot, WESTbike and WESTcargo e-vehicles become a common and welcome sight across our region, for they are an important means to allow residents to reduce car use or give it up completely if they should so choose.

“TIER are extremely keen to do a great job for our brilliant region and I’m pleased about their green credentials as the first micro-mobility company to be fully climate-neutral.”

TIER is Europe’s largest shared micro-mobility provider, with operations in over 560 towns and cities across 30 countries. It has run shared e-scooter and e-bike services in the UK since 2020 with a focus on safety and providing a more sustainable alternative to driving for shorter journeys. Users will be able to access WESTscoots and WESTbikes by downloading the TIER app.

Fred Jones TIER vice president in Northern Europe, said: "I believe with WESTscoot, the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority is setting out an important example of how shared electric personal vehicles and existing public transport options can work together to reduce carbon emissions and congestion in our urban centres.

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“The expansion of the service to include e-bikes and e-cargo bikes makes it easier for the people of West of England to choose to leave their car at home and pick the perfect vehicle for their journey, whether that is commuting, going to see friends or even doing the weekly shop.

"We are proud to have been selected as the operator for this UK-leading flagship service and look forward to the full launch this autumn.”

Swedish firm Voi, the existing West of England operator, will continue to run the current e-scooter until the autumn when the new TIER service takes over.

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.