Swedish micromobility operator Voi has added an ‘end of ride photo’ feature to its UK e-scooters to encourage good parking behaviour.
The in-app feature requires users to take and submit a photo of their parked scooter after each ride, encouraging them to park their scooter correctly.
The enhanced feature allows parking photos to be reviewed daily by Voi’s support team and action to be taken if users do not comply with its safe parking guidelines.
Users who leave e-scooters lying down on the floor, or parked in a way that obstructs the pavement or causes an obstacle to pedestrians, strollers or wheelchairs, will receive an email containing a warning and an educational message.
After the first warning, riders who park their vehicles incorrectly will receive a £25 fine.
Richard Corbett, general manager, UK, Ireland, and Benelux, at Voi, said: “Although the majority of our users tend to park their scooters properly, we want to encourage everyone to think before they park.
“The ‘end of ride photo’ is yet another measure to ensure we motivate our users to understand the way they park the scooters impacts other road users or pedestrians, particularly vulnerable people such as those with visual or mobility impairments, children and the elderly.
“We started to roll out the ‘end of ride photo’, and our data shows that in thousands of rides, only a very small minority of users had to be fined and that those who were fined have only been so once.”
Despite the small number of non-compliant riders, Voi said it has seen a 70% improvement in good parking behaviour following the introduction of the new feature.
“This indicates that people pay more attention to the way they park if a clear deterrent, such as a fine, is used to discourage them from inappropriate parking behaviour,” added Corbett.
Voi has also become the first e-scooter operator to install parking racks in the UK. They can currently be found in Northampton, Southampton and Portsmouth, and the company plans to install more in other cities where it has trials during this spring and summer.
Read more: More dedicated e-scooter parking spots needed to reduce street clutter, finds Voi
