Liverpool’s new scooters and e-bike provider Bolt launches gets ready to launch its new service this weekend with 2,000 electric scooters and 150 e-bikes, replacing previous operator Voi. Tony McDonough reports
On Sunday (February 1) Bolt will begin its contract to operate scooters and e-bikes across Liverpool.
Since August 2022 the services has been operated by Voi but in November LBN revealed that Bolt had secured the new contract with the city council. It will offer 2,000 electric scooters and 150 e-bikes.
This service will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week covering the whole of Liverpool. Neighbourhoods including Speke and Garston will gain access to shared scooters for the first time.
Expanding the scooter and e-bike offer across Liverpool is part of the Council’s aim to provide active travel options. Almost two thirds of all journeys in the city are made by car, which generates almost 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year.
Bolt will introduce a distance-based pricing option for riders, allowing users to pay per mile rather than per minute. The model is designed to promote safer, slower riding by removing incentives to rush journeys, take risks at busy junctions, or park improperly.
To encourage safe, considerate use, the e-scooters come equipped with safety and parking features, including a maximum speed limit, AI-powered photo validation to ensure proper parking and a test to prevent drunk riding.
In the coming weeks, Bolt will also begin rolling out a new generation of shared e-bikes across Liverpool in phases.
The city has been selected as the first location in the UK to receive Bolt’s solar-assisted shared e-bikes, each fitted with an integrated solar panel to extend battery life. The solar panels are expected to save up to 3.7 kWh of energy per bike per year.
The e-bikes will also have regenerative braking technology, converting braking energy into electricity to further power the bike.
Georgia Heathman, Bolt’s UK policy lead, said: “Liverpool is a city with huge potential for shared, sustainable transport.
“By expanding scooters and e-bikes across the entire city, introducing distance-based pricing, and rolling out our most advanced e-bikes to date, we’re making it much easier for people to get around while also reducing car traffic.”
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Research commissioned by Bolt in the UK shows that four in 10 e-bike users ride to train stations or other transport hubs, while more than a third use e-bikes for commuting to work.
Cllr Dan Barrington, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Connectivity, added: “I’m pleased to see the number of measures in place to promote safe, responsible use of their e-scooters and e-bikes.
“The new service will operate at all hours of the day and cover more areas than ever before, giving additional support for people working late at night when there is no public transport.”