Voi has added an artificial noise to its UK e-scooters in a pilot project with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to increase safeguards for pedestrians with sight loss.
The Swedish micromobility operator has creates a ‘low hum’ which will be added to its e-scooters in Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool. The noise replicates the types of artificial engine noise introduced on electric cars in recent years.
Voi added it can be adapted and improved based on feedback from users and the visually impairment community.
Robin Spinks, RNIB strategic lead innovation partnerships, said: “We are collaborating with the industry to create solutions which are sensitive to the needs of blind and partially sighted people. An audible warning is one such solution and we look forward to receiving feedback from the community.”
Over the next three months, Voi will be adding the sound to 60 e-scooters and will be running in-person testing events with sight loss organisations and local authorities to get their feedback on the sound in a real-world environment.
Furthermore, Voi will be working with the RNIB to manage the sessions as part of a wider collaboration to ensure people with sight loss are not adversely affected by e-scooter pilots.
The e-scooter sound pilot will run alongside a formal written consultation to gather feedback from visual impairment organisations, local authorities and police forces regarding the use of artificial vehicle alert systems. Voi will also reach out to riders via email, prompting a questionnaire to identify whether the sound impacted the user experience.
At the end of August, Voi will work with the RNIB to assess the feedback and publish its findings.
Dan Norris, West of England mayor, said: “I am glad that Voi are responding to some of the concerns that have been raised about safety and I’m looking forward to seeing the conclusions of the trial as we work on innovative greener transport solutions across the region.”
