Bristol’s e-scooters appear to be pack animals. The Bristol Post reports that over 100 of them were found huddled together on the pavement in one parking zone in Clifton.
Last month we reported how Bristol hire scheme operator Voi has come in for criticism for the way in which some e-scooters are being parked.
While the firm is operating with designated zones in a bid to prevent inconsiderate parking, such large numbers are being left in some that they have been blocking pavements.
It’s been reported that over 100 were left on the corner of Elm Lane, near Whiteladies Road in Clifton last month.
@TristanCorkPost they’re massing, somethings afoot pic.twitter.com/LXD7DWyw0c
— tom.archer (@archet01) April 23, 2021
The congestion appears to have come about as a result of people heading to the Downs on Friday evening with few other parking zones in the nearby area.
Local resident Shane Clarke said: “We lost count at one point so we might have broken the hundred mark. What would be really helpful is if somebody had said, ‘Sorry about this. We’ll work on it.’ The sub-contractors who came to collect them said, ‘Bloody hell we’ve not seen anything like this'.”
Clarke said the issue was a lack of parking and suggested that some car parking spaces should be given over to e-scooters.
“I think they’re a nice idea,” he said. “Talking to other hirers, they’re asking, ’Where is the alternative nearest parking space?’
“As they're supposed to be on road – if we’re going to go ahead with the experiment it would make sense for them to be somewhere with space around them, perhaps the waterfront.
“Or alternatively give over parking spaces for them. But I guess that would be a whole other debate as to whether residents would be happy with that."
A Voi spokesperson said: “Safety is our top priority. Parking scooters in a way that blocks the pavement are strictly against our user agreement. We have Voi ambassadors in all cities to monitor the streets to report anti-social behaviour, as well as correct poorly-parked scooters.
“We assure you that we don’t want our scooters parked like this either, and are working to improve this.
“One of our priorities is to make sure the scooters are parked correctly, according to local laws and our terms and conditions. We are also working on putting parking racks in several cities where you can place the scooters neatly in the racks. We really apologise for any inconveniences caused by our scooters.”
Voi’s UK and Ireland manager, Richard Corbett, commented: "E-scooters are here to really solve the transport challenge that we have in the UK. We need to find an alternative form of transport to riding by car – 50 per cent of nitrogen dioxide in our atmosphere is from road transport."
