EXCLUSIVE: Bristol & Bath e-scooters could gain obstacle sensing technology
We've spoken to Voi Technologies after complaints about parking
Last updated 26th Apr 2021
E-scooters across Bristol and Bath could be upgraded so if you try and ride them on the pavement, they automatically stop.
We've spoken to the company behind the scooters Voi Technology after seeing several complaints about them either being ridden on pavements or parked on them, blocking the way.
We've heard how they are experimenting with camera technology, similar to that used in some cars, whereby the scooter would sense when it is about to hit something and act accordingly.
Sam Pooke is Voi's Public Policy Manager in the UK and Ireland.
"We are aware of concerns about parking and we work really closely with Bath and Bristol Councils as well as the West of England Combined Authority to tackle these issues," he tells us.
"We work with those authorities on a daily basis to talk about the future of parking and working out what the best solution is to move forward."
Currently the scooters are only available in Bristol and Bath as part of a trial.
As things stand the scheme will end in October and the scooters may have to be removed, unless the government introduces legislation allowing them to stay for longer, or even permanently.
Similar e-scooter schemes have been a feature in mainland Europe for years.
"With our city partners, so the councils...we work with them on a daily basis around issues such as where should we target for our scooters to be...and then with the disability groups we work very closely with these organisations at a national and a local level.
"We talk with them about high level issues around what we can do to make the service as safe as possible.
"So our parking strategy for across the UK, the design of our parking racks...so while these solutions are going to be really good at tackling scooter clutter, it's still important to make sure that anything we put on the pavement such as a rack, we're doing it in a responsible way."
Last month a parking spot on Sion Hill in Clifton was removed after residents complained of excessive numbers of scooters being left on the pavement.
Scooters can only be parked in virtual parking zones visible through the Voi app. They are often tied with bike racks but can also merely be wide areas of a pavement.
"We've designed our own parking racks specifically for our scooters," Sam says.
"We have them in a number of our UK cities at the moment and we are having conversations with different councils about whether that is the appropriate solution for that particular area.
"These are racks that we have worked with disability charities with on the design."
Sam confirms they are having conversations with the West of England Combined Authority about the racks, but that is just one solution the company is looking at,
A three strike policy is already adopted towards people riding or parking their scooter irresponsibly, whereby if a rider receives three strikes their account is suspended.
License plates on the scooters also mean people who spot someone riding irresponsibly can report the license plate to Voi who can then act accordingly.
Most interestingly though, a trial is ongoing at the moment in Northampton using camera technology, which it's hoped can be installed into the scooters.
If successful it would allow the scooters to sense pedestrians, pavements and any other potential obstacles and then cut out if it gets too close to them.
"It is a very similar technology to what cars have now," Sam tells us.
"You see the adverts where if a driver falls asleep at the wheel and the car starts to drift, the technology in the car allows it to correct itself.
"It's very similar to that and it's the machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence) and cameras within the hardware of the scooter that just completely scans the surrounding and detects what is in the surrounding.
"So it can be used to detect potholes for example or pedestrians, or sidewalks.
"What we're doing at the moment is testing the accuracy of that tech and should that tech prove to be giving us the level of accuracy that we want, then our hope is that we'll be able to roll out a solution across all of our fleet."