Free e-scooter rides in Liverpool to celebrate Earth Day

E-scooter operator Voi is offering free rides in Liverpool from today to help to promote environmental awareness in the city as part of Earth Day. Riders normally have to pay to hire the distinctive orange scooters but can enjoy 30 minutes free over the course of next week.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 each year and was first held in 1970. It is a global event to honour the environmental movement and highlight the need to protect the planet for future generations.

Voi, who operate e-scooter and e-bike schemes in Cambridge, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Liverpool, London, Northampton, Oxford, Portsmouth and Southampton say its vehicles have replaced almost 11 million car journeys in the UK and saved over over 4,400 tonnes CO2e.

James Bolton, General Manager, Voi UK, said: “We aim to transform how people move in cities, freeing us from car dependency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, working all the time to reduce the environmental impact of our value chain and operations in the process.

“This Earth Day we hope to really encourage that shift and that’s why we’re offering free e-scooter use, not only to help the planet, but to encourage new riders to have a go and see how easy and convenient it is to make the switch.”

Riders in Liverpool can take advantage of the free 30 minutes e-scooter use from Earth Day, Monday April 22, until Sunday April 28, using the code EARTHDAY in the app.

For more than three years, Voi’s e-scooters have been a fixture across Liverpool as part of a trial scheme, commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT). The city was one of 32 areas selected to pilot the programme. With the existing contract due to end in April 2024 and the DfT extending the project by a further two years, Liverpool City Council has taken the decision to negotiate a new deal to 2026.

The scooters have not been without controversy however. Last month, one couple in Fazakerley expressed their anger at the vehicles being dumped outside their home, while a business in West Derby faced a similar issue with scooters blocking the entrance to a print shop.