Voi has said London’s e-scooter scheme is the “worst out of over 100 cities in Europe” where it operates. CEO and co-founder Fredrik Hjelm said the heavily regulated e-scooter trials “cannot compete” with the capital’s rental e-bikes, which are, “unregulated with e-bike companies able to deploy as many bikes as they like, wherever they like”.

London’s e-scooter trial is currently operated by Voi and Lime, but Hjelm said Voi may have “no option” other than to withdraw from the trial or deploy 20,000 e-bikes to “level the playing field”.

These comments closely echo operator Dott’s, which pulled out of the capital’s e-scooter trial after blaming the “rapid and unregulated rise of e-bikes”. A spokesperson told City AM. "This meant that it was not possible for us to run a financially sustainable shared e-scooter service under the current market conditions in London.”

Dott had also previously also taken its 2,500 e-bikes out of London, sending them to Paris and Rome.

In a letter to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Hjelm said: “I am sure you will agree that micromobility is crucial to reduce dependency on cars and to increase sustainable and accessible forms of transport. It also plays a major role in improving London’s air quality.

“We were thrilled to launch in London last September to support this goal. However, we are increasingly concerned about the direction of micromobility in London.”

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He added: “E-scooters have been extremely successful in cities across the UK and the rest of Europe. Of the 100-plus towns and cities Voi operates in, London is the lowest-performing due to a heavily regulated trial that cannot compete with largely unregulated rental e-bikes. Urgent action is required to address this. 

"As things stand, it is financially unsustainable to continue operating in the city.”

Hjelm said if Voi is not able to work with Transport for London (TfL) to improve the situation, it will be faced with two options: 

1. To withdraw from the city, which is said would “effectively signal the failure and end of the TfL-led e-scooter scheme”, and leave just a single operator, Lime.

2. Invest in and deploy 20,000 e-bikes across London this summer.

Voi also said the e-scooter scheme is only available in nine London boroughs and the City of London, creating a ‘patchwork’ operating area and limiting where people can ride. It also has too few parking spots, and is hampered by no-go and slow-go zones, the operator added.

"Meanwhile, there has been a rapid rise of rental e-bikes across the city, with few restrictions or regulations about where they can be ridden or parked."

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Hjelm concluded the letter: “I hope you can use your influence working alongside the government after 4 July to improve the situation, and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss further and share experiences from Europe.”