Jack Samler’s Post

Voi Technology and 50 other organisations from across the micromobility, tech and investor community have written to Rishi Sunak to urge his government to set a date for legislation to make rental e-scooters permanent. Trials are due to end in May 2024 and we currently have no firm commitment from the government on their plans. With the PM and Chancellor both boasting of their focus on "growing the economy and fostering a fruitful environment for green startups", the reluctance to deliver on micromobility legislation makes no sense. Wholly privately financed, micromobility is one of the only industries in transport which requires zero public subsidy and is estimated to be worth $440billion dollars by the end of the decade. The longer the government delays, the harder it will become for investors and operators to prioritise the UK as a target for investment. We need less inertia, more action.

Big one last week: we launched in London! *Awesome* work from dozens across the Voi team to execute this. We'll be continuing to roll out our fleet across the capital over the coming days, so watch out for coral e-scooters near you and give us a try — let's get London scooting! 💸 We are one of the lowest cost transport option in London — currently cheaper than all alternatives across shared e-bikes and e-scooters. On top of that we're running launch discounts giving all new users 5x free rides. Yes, free! 🅿 We know finding a parking bay and navigating no-ride zones in London can be an issue, which is why we've launched with our in-app "navigate to" feature. Use this to quickly and easily map out your route, avoiding no-ride zones and taking you to the parking spot nearest to your final destination. Beautiful! A lot of work to do over the coming months to step-change the service and really fulfil London's potential — including increasing parking availability, operating area and fleet size. Looking forward to working with Transport for London and all London Boroughs on this.

We do a lot of awesome things at Voi Technology, but this has to be up there with the ones I'm most proud of. All research points towards quick employment of offenders helping to drastically reduce reoffence rates, but only 17% of UK offenders find jobs within 6 months of release. As such, it's been great to have Sam and many others with us on work placements as part of the Key4Life programme. Highly recommend other UK employers to sign up. Let's give young offenders the chance at a brighter future - everyone benefits!

Great role, team, manager, company. Come join the journey!

Very proud moment for us at Voi Technology, as we we’re able to officially announce that we've been selected by Transport for London to run London’s e-scooter scheme, together with Lime and Dott. As the operator with the largest fleet of e-scooters across the UK, we’re looking forward to continuing our exciting growth trajectory by launching in the capital. With up to ~20k vehicles able to be deployed on London's streets under the contract, it's clear that we are currently only scratching the surface of this great city's potential for micromobility. A lot of work to do to increase service coverage, parking density, and vehicle availability — but so, *so* much opportunity. We *have* to change the way we move if we are serious about tackling congestion and carbon emissions from transport — and micromobility is an important part of the solution. This win is the result of relentless grit and day-in, day-out execution of the very highest class from so many people right across the business — too many to mention. Could not be prouder of, and more grateful for, this exceptional team of fighters. You deserve this! Download the Voi app, and watch out for our London launch this autumn. Now: time to build!

Productive and engaging morning at MOVE: Mobility Re-imagined yesterday. Good to have the opportunity to speak on what we need from national and local Government to ensure that micromobility survives and thrives long-term, namely: (1) *At a national level, we need legislation*. despite huge uptake since the UK e-scooter trials began (34M rides, 2/3rds of which have been on Voi Technology scooters) — driving clear environmental and economic benefits in the process — the trials have been extended three times now. We need less inertia, and more action from Government. 80% of the public agree it’s time to legislate. (2) *At a local level, we need contractual frameworks that enable long-term financial sustainability*. the tender processes that cities run for micromobility are often set up in a way that can creates the wrong incentives - particularly when it comes to blind revenue share bids. In an era of cheap capital, the industry could get away with this; however, financial prudence and — as part of that — ensuring profitability at a scheme-by-scheme level, is critical if we want the industry to survive. If cities want us to continue investing to drive the safest, most reliable service for their citizens, we need to be honest about the economics of running a micromobility scheme: it is capital intensive with thin margins (and unlike other forms of public transport, it is not subsidised with public funds). Blind revenue shares ignore this reality, encouraging short-term thinking and a race to the bottom. It's not sustainable (service quality will decline for citizens, operators will go out of business, cities will have to re-tender) and will erode value long-term. Let's be pragmatic!

Yesterday was a sad day for Paris, our competitors, and the micromobility project. Paris has among the highest utilisation of shared electric micromobility services in the world, and the popularity of these services has already proven to have a positive impact on the city’s climate and transport targets. Restrictive voting rules (e.g. no online voting, no proxy voting) resulted in a small proportion of eligible Parisians participating - about 7.5%, or 100k people (to put that into perspective, the scheme has about 400k regular users). However, the industry must also listen to this feedback from non-user citizens who have made their views clear. A few reflections from how it's played out: 1️⃣ *Change and innovation is hard*. It is easier to ban something - particularly when under pressure from a vocal minority - than to work through the political, operational and practical challenges of progressing. Shifting mindsets from "this is hard, let's quit" towards "how can we make this work?" can be more complex than it sounds, particularly when it involves public-private sector collaborations. 2️⃣ *This is a speedbump, not a roadblock*. We need to rethink how we move around urban spaces, and as part of that we need to drastically cut carbon emissions from transport. As a non-subsidised, easy to use, low-carbon offering, shared e-scooters are part of the answer - of that I'm sure. Europe is adopting shared e-scooters with immense pace, and momentum is building. Political appetite will continue to grow, and shared e-scooters will be back in Paris one day. 3️⃣ *Reputations stick and perception matters*. The Paris e-scooter scheme has run increasingly smoothly over the last couple of years, with rapidly reducing issues concerning safety and city clutter. However, it's clear that the scars of the chaotic "early days" of e-scooters in Paris - where operators moved too fast for regulation - are clearly still carried. This is a lesson for all fast-moving private enterprises that are looking to innovate in traditional spaces. 4️⃣ *As an industry, we are nothing without the support of our cities*. E-scooter operators must continue to work closely with our city partners to educate, build trust and - ultimately - collaboratively design solutions and sensible regulation. Cities give us the right to operate, and the success of e-scooters is reliant on buy-in from them. 5️⃣ *Operators must continue to focus the inputs that will drive adoption*. We must continue focusing day-in, day-out on reducing clutter, improving parking, and ensuring our service is as safe as possible. This must be done in partnership with local and national government, as part of creating a long-term regulatory model that works for all stakeholders. We hope the City of Paris will consider reopening a tender within the next few years to remain one of the leading cities in sustainable mobility. https://on.ft.com/3ZUpYXT #escooters #micromobility #parisreferendum

Thanks to the BBC for having me on The One Show last week to talk about the success of Voi Technology and the e-scooter trials across the UK. We also discussed the increasing need for government investment to make our roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists and e-scooter riders. With over 1.2M app downloads and almost 25M trips taken on Voi e-scooters in the UK since we launched, we continue to see phenomenal take-up. The reason is simple: we are solving a fundamental problem by offering a safe, convenient, affordable and sustainable way to move around our urban spaces. Less congestion, less carbon emissions, less hassle. For those interested, you can watch on iPlayer here (we're first up!): https://lnkd.in/e5nngxac Great work Juliette Maxam for leading on this!

Here's to the next 1M miles Oxford! 🚀

The way we move around urban areas needs fixing. Our dependency on cars has become engrained, leading to excessive carbon emissions, noise pollution, and traffic congestion. Shared e-scooters and e-bikes aren't a silver bullet, but they can certainly be part of the solution. We know the demand in the UK is there — 0.5M users have completed 22M rides on Voi vehicles since we launched, in the process preventing the release of 4,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions through car trip replacement. But we are just at the start of the journey. The economics of this industry are challenging, and macro conditions mean that the urgency around building a path to profitability has increased. Excessive city fees placed on operators like Voi for running our service can make that impossible. If we want this nascent industry to continue gaining traction and solving real-world problems, we need the help of our local city partners, so that we in turn can help them meet their local environmental transport goals. Let's not cripple this industry just as it's getting started. Matthew Pencharz, our Head of Policy in the UK, has written a great piece on this in Zag Daily. Please read and share! #escooters #ebikes #micromobility