Voi has collaborated with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to redesign its e-scooter parking racks to reduce street hazards for vulnerable pedestrians.
The new parking racks are designed with extended and raised side panels that enclose the whole length of the e-scooters. Voi has also increased the colour contrast to make the racks more distinctive for visually impaired pedestrians. These changes will limit potential accidents by helping cane users locate and avoid the racks.
Jack Samler, General Manager at Voi UK and Ireland, said:We’ve been working closely with RNIB for several months to redesign our e-scooter racks to improve the visibility and address mobility issues faced by blind and partially sighted people. During the upcoming months, we will be installing these parking racks in cities where we have trials, and we are looking forward to evaluating the impact that the collaborative design has during the trials.
This project is part of Voi’s wider collaboration with the RNIB to understand the needs of blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Through this collaboration, Voi has already implemented rider education training and e-scooter sound alerts.
Voi is currently running UK e-scooter trials in 18 towns and cities. To ensure greater micromobility adoption, the company is now prioritising improved parking infrastructure to reduce hazards for pedestrians and other road users and limit street clutter.
In addition to developing effective parking infrastructure, Voi has been focusing on user education to encourage thoughtful parking. In the UK, it recently implemented a ’Parking Photo’ feature in the Voi app that requires riders to submit a photo of their parked scooter after each ride. Riders who leave e-scooters obstructing the pavement will first receive a warning, and then a 25 GBP fine for any further infringements. Since introducing this feature, Voi has seen a 70 percent improvement in good parking behaviour.
John Worsfold, Strategic Innovation Implementation Manager at RNIB, said:The Voi team has worked enthusiastically to better understand the concerns and needs of blind and partially sighted people and we look forward to testing the resulting redesign of their e-scooter racks. We also look forward to learning about the deployment and impact this redesign has for blind and partially sighted people when they are trialled in our towns and cities.
