Voi Launches Impact Dashboard to Help Riders Make More Sustainable Transport Choices
Not only are our e-scooter and e-bikes offer a sustainable alternative to cars, but our riders can also now receive live data on our app, highlighting the extent to which their rides have a positive impact on both CO2 emissions and air quality.
Our new Voi Impact Dashboard, being launched today at the start of COP26, shows riders the estimated CO2 emissions they have avoided by opting for a journey by e-scooter or e-bike. This data takes into account the emissions produced across the full life cycle of our vehicles, from the production phase to when they are finally recycled. The average Voi scooter ride emits 29g CO2 equivalent per passenger-km of life cycle emissions, compared with 184g per passenger-km emitted by a passenger car.
Our current life cycle emissions have been significantly reduced over the past three years. This is mainly due to the fact that we have succeeded in extending our e-scooter lifespan to five years, as part of our Durable Scooter Programme. In addition, we have worked tirelessly to scale our net-zero operations.
As well as showing the impact on CO2 emissions, our new Impact Dashboard displays the rider’s average contribution to air quality in the area, using PM2.5 measurements. PM2.5 is the term for particulate matter, with a diameter of fewer than 2.5 microns caused by partially combusted fuel. Studies have shown that exposure to PM2.5 has resulted in over 700,000 deaths in Europe since 2016.
The Impact Dashboard will be available for iOS users in the Voi app, check out the video here.
Fredrik Hjelm, CEO and co-founder of Voi, said:Since 1 January 2020, I have travelled over 2,940km by Voi, which is the equivalent of a journey between Stockholm and Barcelona! I was delighted to discover that, by regularly travelling on our Voi e-scooters, I have saved an estimated 108kg of CO2 and reduced air pollution by over 6g of PM2.5. I have no doubt that our users are also going to be equally pleased to see the positive impact they are having, by choosing our e-scooters and bikes as their travel mode.
As with all of our developments to make Voi e-scooters the safest and most sustainable in the micromobilty market, we have worked in partnership with experts to help make this Impact Dashboard happen. The carbon calculator used to calculate Voi’s emissions was built with and validated by Dr. Manos Chaniotakis, Lecturer in Transport Modelling and Machine Learning at UCL’s MaaSLab in London. We also have a dedicated and expert in-house sustainability team.
By combining data about how often and how far our riders travel, with customer surveys about modal shifts from car to e-scooter or e-bike, and adding other factors such as our Life Cycle Assessment results, we are able to pass on the good news to our customers about the positive impact of each and every Voiage. All in one somewhat dashing dashboard, even if we say so ourselves.
Fredrik Hjelm, CEO and co-founder of Voi, continued:A year into the ‘Decade of Action’, the global community urgently needs to step up ambition for the best chance of tackling the climate crisis, delivering on the Paris Agreement and transitioning to net-zero transport. To date, Voi riders have replaced 11 million car rides and saved over 3,000 tonnes of carbon emissions and nearly 1,750kg of PM2.5 particles from entering the atmosphere by opting for shared micromobility since 2020. However, there’s still so much more that needs to be done.
While heads of state, delegates, and civil society gather in Glasgow for COP26, we want to do our part by giving people the tools to make informed mobility choices so they can have an active role in the transition to sustainable transport. Together, with cities, citizens and other public transport and micromobility operators, reducing the need for short car trips, reduce harmful emissions and re-shape our cities so they are made for living.
At Voi, we pride ourselves on using data-driven metrics to support us at every step of the journey towards achieving cities free from pollution and congestion. This is in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 3– Good Health and Wellbeing. Central to this mission is our support for the 15-minute cities concept, whereby all urban dwellers’ needs are accessible within a 15-minute walk, scooter or bike ride. With over 70 million trips having been taken on Voi’s bright coral e-scooters and e-bikes in over 70 towns and cities in 11 countries to date, we believe that we – and our loyal Voiagers – are well on our way to making an important impact.
This article was originally published by Voi Technology.
