E-scooters now more widely available in Kettering as Voi expands operating area, including Hanwood Park

Rental e-scooters are now more widely available in Kettering as operator Voi has expanded its service in the town.

Voi e-scooters will now be available in the east of Kettering, including at the new development Hanwood Park.

The expansion means that e-scooters are now available across the entire town, providing a greener and cheaper alternative form of transport to help cut congestion and pollution.

Voi worked with North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) and Hanwood Park on the project.

Since the e-scooter trial was launched in Kettering in partnership with Voi in December 2020, public hire e-scooters and e-bikes have become an important addition to transport in the town, with just over 15,000 people in Kettering now signed up to Voi.

E-scooters are a much greener way to travel and since their introduction in Kettering have replaced more than 241,000 car journeys, reducing CO2 emissions by an estimated 82 tonnes.

Cllr Matt Binley, NNC’s executive member for highways, travel and assets, said: “It is great that Voi has expanded its offering in Kettering to keep up with the growth of the town.

“Since Voi has been in the area, we have seen the popularity of Voi e-scooters increase with more and more people using them to travel to work and I hope this will grow even further, with this expansion.

“With the increase in usage and growth in offering, we continue to work with Voi and Northamptonshire Police to reinforce the importance of safety and tackle misuse, all of which we hope will help with the continued success of the trial.”

Chris Langdon, project director, Hanwood Park, said: “Hanwood Park is delighted to have been able to work with Voi to extend their e-scooters into the whole of Hanwood Park.

"We see fantastic opportunities to provide sustainable transport options to our residents, visitors and workers and are keen for this mode to complement our walking, cycling and public transport proposals with convenient and affordable choice.

"Hanwood Park is about community, connectivity and creativity – Voi really fits that description.”

Jack Samler, regional general manager for Voi UK, Ireland and France, said: “We are delighted to have expanded our operating area in Kettering so that even more people can benefit from using e-scooters across a wider area.

“It’s great to be working with a progressive developer like Hanwood Park who understand how e-scooters can help new developments become more sustainable by providing an attractive and green travel option for new residents.”

Despite Voi extending its use of e-scooters, earlier this week the Northants Telegraph reported how people wanting to use one of the Voi-managed e-bikes in Kettering will not be able to use them after they were withdrawn from the streets of Kettering and Burton Latimer.

As part of Voi’s mission to provide safe, sustainable and reliable micromobility for all, Voi riders can take advantage of Voi for All discounts which provide discounted travel to people on low incomes, including refugees and asylum seekers, disabled people and people over 65, to help with the cost of living.

Founded in 2018, Voi is a Swedish micromobility company offering e-scooter and e-bike sharing in partnership with towns, cities and local communities.

Voi operates in more than 100 towns and cities across 12 countries.