E-bikes are coming to Northampton this month

People across Northampton will soon be able to use electric bikes to get around town, as well as VOI’s existing shared e-scooters.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and leading micromobility operator Voi are pleased to announce that Northampton will be one of four locations across the UK to have 50 e-bikes for hire, with bikes being made available later this month.

Councillor Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste at West Northamptonshire Council, added: “We’re delighted that Northampton will become one of four locations to have the innovative e-bikes, offering a sustainable way for people to travel.

“We will continue to work with Voi to ensure the safety of riders, pedestrians and motorists, and ensure both e-scooters and e-bikes provide a safe and sustainable way for people to get from A to B.”

The e-bikes will operate in a similar way to the e-scooter scheme which are also run by Voi and will be available across the whole of the town.

To use the e-bikes, people will first need to download the Voi app and create an account - there is no need to do this if they are already using Voi e-scooters.

People can then find the nearest bike using the app, scan a QR code to unlock a bike and then end the ride at the end of their journey, sending a photo to show the bike is correctly parked.

GPS technology is used to define the operating area, and the app clearly shows where bikes can and cannot be parked.

Just as for e-scooters, anyone can report inconsiderate riding or parking using the online tool: report.voi.com and Voi’s team will take action.

In common with other e-bike schemes across the UK, e-bike users should be aged 16 or over and do not need a UK driving licence - unlike for e-scooters where riders should be 18-years-old or older and must have a provisional or full UK driving licence.

Voi advises e-bike cyclists and e-scooter riders to wear helmets for each journey. Riders can use day or monthly passes to ride both e-scooters and e-bikes.

Jim Hubbard, senior public policy manager for Voi UK, said: “We’re delighted to be adding to Northampton’s green transport mix. E-bikes nicely complement our existing e-scooters in town, providing people more choice. We have found that e-bike journeys tend to be longer than those taken by e-scooter, and that riders value the front basket where they can keep their belongings.

“Like our e-scooters, our e-bikes are easy to use, affordable, reliable and sustainable.”

Voi also operates e-bikes in Kettering, Cambridge and Liverpool. To find out more about the scheme visit https://www.smartmovenorthamptonshire.net/