News / Transport
E-scooter contract could be scrapped if service not good enough
Transport officials will review Bristol’s e-scooters trial and could decide to scrap the deal with current operator TIER-Dott if it’s not up to scratch.
The region’s political leaders are being asked to give West of England Combined Authority (WECA) officers the power to renew or cancel the contract.
Many people have complained about the existing service and have called for the return of Voi, the original provider.
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A rare sighting of a Voi and a Tier together – photo: Bristol24/7
A decision to delegate authority to officers is needed at WECA committee on Friday because it will not meet again until the new year, and WECA needs to give six months’ notice to the newly merged company if it wants to walk away from the deal, which is due to end on June 29 next year.
The current operators have come under fire for axing the long-term rental scheme, where users could hire an e-scooter for a month at a time, because of safety risks of charging the vehicles at home.
Metro mayor Dan Norris and the leaders of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North Somerset councils, who comprise the WECA committee, are being recommended to give officers the final say on whether to extend the contract for 12 or 24 months or abandon it altogether and find a new provider “depending on performance”.
Bristol city councillor Toby Wells told WECA’s overview and scrutiny committee that there had been some unexpected changes to the service, including the withdrawal of the long-term rentals with less than 24 hours’ notice.
He said: “There were wholesale changes to the pricing schemes as well, and promises from the new company Dott that nobody would be worse off, but actually that’s categorically not true.
“So since the committee on Friday is being recommended to give approval to extend that contract, I would like to understand what provisions we actually have in that contract with the provider and are they meeting their contractual obligations, and do we have clauses about long-term rentals and pricing?”
Bring back Voi! – photo: Martin Booth
WECA director of infrastructure, David Gibson, said: “The committee decision that we’re asking for is not necessarily to delegate the approval to extend the contract but to take a decision whether or not to extend the contract, so we don’t have to extend.
“The long-term rentals [cancellation] happened very quickly and was due to a health and safety issue which we’re exploring with the contractor.
“Obviously we would rather have contractors who are supplying services and are very safety conscious of the service users. That’s clearly very important.
“We monitor the contract very closely. There has been a merger and Dott has made some promises largely about the way that the app works in the background.
“It’s supposed to be significantly better than the TIER app and there is data to support that. So we’re working with TIER and Dott very closely.
“I’m due to meet the new chief exec in the next week or so, so we will be going through all those issues because we want the best possible service.”
Gibson said both long-term rentals and pricing were part of the contract previously agreed.
The e-scooter trial began with Voi in October 2020 before TIER took over three years later. TIER then merged with Dott in spring 2024 resulting in the transition to the Dott app in the region.
A report to Friday’s committee said: “Since this contract has only been fully operational since April 2024, and activities delivering key operational improvements in partnership with the contractor and local highway authorities are ongoing, it is particularly beneficial to enable more evidence to be gathered on the performance of the contractor prior to deciding to either extend or terminate the contract and re-procure the service.
“A review of the current status of the service is scheduled to take place prior to any extensions being issued to ensure that the decision is informed.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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