Exclusive: A ‘furious’ mayor and a hidden fault - is this the real reason Voi scooters were taken off our roads?
Exclusive: A ‘furious’ mayor and a hidden fault - is this the real reason Voi scooters were taken off our roads?
Plus: A heartwarming short film about a family-run Bearwood newsagents
Good evening readers — welcome to your Monday briefing. It’s a momentous day here at Dispatch HQ - we’ve just passed 5,000 readers on our mailing list! We reached the milestone late last night after lots of newbies came in following our weekend read. Huge thanks to everyone who has signed up friends, relatives, and random members of your local Facebook group since we launched in late October. We can’t quite believe there are already 5,000 people signed up but we’re very, very excited.
Today’s big story exclusively reveals why Voi e-scooters were paused in Birmingham earlier this year. The reasons were shrouded in secrecy at the time, but we can disclose that vital information was withheld from Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) which may have put the public’s safety at risk. Read on to find out more.
Our Saturday read by the brilliant Jack Walton looked at the tentative response by Birmingham City fans to their club’s glitzy takeover by American venture capitalists. He ponders if Blues are ready to embrace an uncharacteristically positive attitude. (Admittedly, that seems less likely following their latest loss, Friday’s 2-0 defeat at Coventry City). You can catch up with the story here if you haven’t already:
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This week’s weather
☔ Tuesday: Expect it to be windy and unsettled with frequent showers. Max 11°C.
🌦️ Wednesday: Cloudy with light rain in the morning, getting drier later on. Max 7°C.
☂️ Thursday: Overcast, drizzly, and a bit cooler than usual. Max 7°C.
🌬️ Friday: Suny with light winds. Max 8°C.
🍃 Weekend: Sunny with a gentle breeze. Max 9°C.
The big story: A ‘furious’ mayor and a hidden fault - is this the real reason Voi scooters were taken off our roads?
Top line: The Dispatch can reveal that Swedish electric scooter operator Voi withheld information from Transport for West Midlands about a key fault on its fleet.
Context: Voi held the contract to deliver e-scooters in the West Midlands from 2020 to early 2023. The contract meant there were approximately 2,000 scooters available for use on the streets of Birmingham in 2022 with a height of 100,000 rides a week taken that year (this was especially high because of the Commonwealth Games). You had to be 18 and hold at least a provisional licence to use an e-scooter.
New contract: That contract was due to end in March this year with a new one set to replace it immediately after. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) launched an open tender in August 2022 to find a preferred bidder, but the contract was mysteriously paused at the end of February when TfWM released a statement saying: “The procurement process is yet to conclude following bids from a number of interested providers.”
A tragic incident: On the morning of 6 December 2022, 12-year-old Mustafa Nadeem managed to unlock an e-scooter in Bordesley Green using his 14-year-old friend’s phone which had his father’s transport app on it. He paid for the journey using an under-16’s bank account. Tragically, Nadeem died after he swerved to avoid a pedestrian and collided with a bus. The coroner ruled the cause of death was the result of a road traffic collision and a later inquest found Voi’s safety measures were standard and the company had not cut corners.
Issues: Around the same time as the police investigation into Nadeem’s death, TfWM learned of instances of malfunctioning Voi e-scooters which had first been reported to the company several months earlier.
The problem: The Dispatch has discovered that during 2022, some West Midlands e-scooter users had reported to Voi that the steering column — the long neck of the scooter which the handlebars sit on top of — had snapped in half mid-ride.
The issue was happening in other regions too - in September last year the Northampton Chronicle and Echo reported on a man who smashed his teeth into a curb after the Voi e-scooter he was riding broke in two.
But TfWM says it wasn’t notified until January 2023, by which time Voi and the DfT say the issue had been resolved. Before that, the public body responsible for transport seemingly had no idea that some of the devices were so defective that they might snap apart in the middle of a journey.
Big questions: In an interview with ITV in February, West Midlands mayor Andy Street said the decision to pause the contract wasn’t due to a health and safety issue. Asked if he was happy with Voi’s performance during the trial, Street said: “That is all a private matter between TfWM and the contractor.” But sources have told The Dispatch that Street was in fact “furious” TfWM had been kept in the dark.
A spokesperson for TfWM said:
TfWM was first made aware of the issue by the Department for Transport and Voi in January, several months after it had occurred. This failure to inform us earlier was extremely disappointing. By this time, a fix had been introduced which had been agreed with the DfT, and there was no evidence there was an ongoing issue with e-scooter safety. The contract ended a few weeks later in February.
Regular contact: When we contacted Voi about this story, they didn’t deny the delay in informing TfWM and said safety is the company’s “top priority”. They say they took “decisive action to ensure any potential issues with our steering columns were resolved swiftly, ensuring riders were not put at risk.” The spokesperson went on:
This included carrying out a rigorous programme across our entire fleet to check, maintain and, where necessary, replace parts pre-emptively.
Throughout, we were in regular contact with the Department for Transport, who manage the UK e-scooter trials. We also communicated with Transport for West Midlands.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said:
Safety is at the heart of our e-scooter trials and we expect high standards to be met, as set out in detailed requirements. While the day-to-day running of the trial is for the local authority and the operator, we supported both with a mitigation plan following a vehicle issue.
Zoom out: Voi no longer provides e-scooters in the West Midlands but it does operate in other parts of the country. Liverpool, Gloucester, Corby, Kettering, Higham Ferrers, Rushden, Cambridge, Northampton, Oxford, Southampton, Cheltenham, Portsmouth, and London are all home to the coral-coloured e-scooters. All public e-scooter providers operate as part of a government trial that has been extended twice and is due to continue until May 2024.
Regulation: As coroner James Bennett noted in his report Mustafa Nadeem: Prevention of Future Deaths: “There is no regulatory body.” Operators make do with guidance from the DfT.
New operator: The new operator, Beryl, has brought in enhanced measures like ‘selfie’ verification checks to reduce the risk of children accessing their scooters.
Data check: There has been a broadly upward trend in collisions involving e-scooters since the government trial began in 2020. They are more common in the summer.
Bottom line: Voi told us they had 15 reports of scooters snapping out of 2.6 million journeys in the West Midlands. That may be so, but it’s alarming to know that the local transport authority was unaware of a risk to public safety. The story raises questions about how trials of new transport technology like this are overseen and regulated.
Know more about this? You can always send us story tips and info by hitting reply to any edition of The Dispatch or clicking here.
Photo of the week
Photographer Sam Frank Wood stumbled across the Bournville Radio Sailing and Model Boat Club while walking his dog and has been regularly snapping the action.
Brum in brief
🕯️ It’s one year since the Babbs Mill Lake tragedy in which four boys lost their lives. The BBC reports on a community that is still grieving but where residents have found solace in each other’s kindness.
🗯️ The Green Party candidate at the next General Election for Bromsgrove, Melissa Poulton, has spoken out after facing derogatory comments online by the Conservative MP for neighbouring constituency Redditch, Rachel Maclean, who is deputy chair of the Tory party. Poulton said Maclean’s comments, which were posted on X and have since been deleted, were “transphobic” on BBC Politics Midlands yesterday.
🎶 A 350-capacity music venue called Sally Brown’s will open in Stirchley next March, replacing The Roadhouse which closed in 2017. The NME reports: “The retro-themed venue will also have an upstairs cafe, an ‘absolute sun-trap’ garden with seating as well as rehearsal and creative space for artists.”
👩⚕️ The managing director of a company that runs five care homes across Herefordshire and Worcestershire has said it will be “much harder” to recruit staff if new changes to immigration law come into effect. Simon Patient told the BBC local people are not applying for care vacancies. He said: “They are simply not there.”
📖 A new literature and music festival will be launched in Kings Heath next year courtesy of The Heath Bookshop, how brave is the wren children’s bookshop, and the Hare and Hounds. It will take place 18-24 April and you can sign up for updates.
Home of the week
This two-bedroom barn conversion is in the popular village of Minworth, Sutton Coldfield, and is available with no forward chain. It’s just gone on the market for £158,000.
Media picks
🎞️ Thanks to Dispatch reader Gurpreet who sent a link to this lovely short film, recommended by film-maker network Reel Brum, about a family-run neighbourhood shop in Bearwood. It’s a warm insight into life behind the counter of a newsagents and what it is like to grow up amid the pick’n’mix and newspapers. Family life and work melt together in the film which is beautifully shot and structured around an interview with Jasbinder, the adult daughter of a Punjabi couple. Her mum moved to Birmingham in the 1970s to marry her dad who she met for the first time on arrival at the airport. The film touches on some serious issues, including racist bullying and violence, but is heart-warming throughout.
📰 Since the sad news of Benjamin Zephaniah’s death broke on Thursday, clips of interviews, performances, and films made by the much-loved poet have continued to pour through our feeds. I’ve enjoyed reading back through the blog posts on his website, including this repost of an article he wrote for Inquilab Magazine on martial arts. “Don’t believe the hype, it’s not about high kicks and breaking bricks, it comes from the East and increases your peace and in time you will find that it’s all in the mind.”
🎧 BBC Radio 3 recently broadcast the world premiere performance of Birmingham legend Joan Armatrading’s Symphony No.1 by Chineke! Orchestra — Europe’s first majority black and ethnically diverse orchestra. This is Armatrading’s first foray into classical composition following a lauded career in pop music. The symphony received mixed reviews but I think it’s admirable when an artist shows no signs of slowing down and continues to push beyond what’s comfortable. I’m sure Dispatch readers who listen will make up their own minds.
Things to do
Tuesday:
🎶 Skylarks Choir celebrates its 10th birthday on Tuesday with a concert of uplifting songs from Stevie Wonder to Fleetwood Mac. 7.30pm at the MAC. Tickets £7.
📽️ The Electric Cinema is screening the 1951 Scrooge adaptation of A Christmas Carol this week to get you in a classical kind of Christmas mood. 3pm. Tickets from £8.50.
Wednesday:
📜 Historian Max Keen is giving an intriguing talk on King Richard III in Wolverhampton. He will consider if the king’s reputation as a “cold-blooded murderer” is deserved or not. 7.30pm. Tickets £5.
💆♀️ This event at The Warehouse hopes to build mutual support for people living with menstrual disorders. Includes a soothing candle and eye pillow workshop. 6pm. Tickets at the very specific price of £6.13.
Thursday:
🌱 Fruit and Nut Village holds regular gardening meet-ups and this Thursday will be planting away at Southern Drive Forest Garden. RSVP here and wrap up warm for a 10.30am start.
🧁 Himley Hall is serving indulgent, festive afternoon teas throughout winter. Enjoy your scones, cakes, sandwiches, prosecco, and tea in their grand and historic setting. Bookhere for 2pm.
I must admit I find it odd that since Beryl took over running the e-scooters, I don't actually see any people using them. I certainly don't see them dumped everywhere either!
On the other hand, I used to see loads of people riding around on the Voi scooters, including kids who were clearly under-18, and most of the time they were whizzing by me along the pavement rather than in the road. And then of course you'd just find them randomly dumped everywhere on pavements.
I suspected at the time that maybe someone had found a way to 'hack' these scooters, thus giving many people with a 'cracked' version of the app the opportunity to enjoy as many free rides as they liked.
(It would have been interesting to compare the vehicle location tracking and mileage records against the collected revenue, I'm pretty sure that would be something that Voi would like to keep quiet about too)
Losing Voi was a massive failure of our City. They were excellent to get around parts of the city not well served by traditional public transport.
The new Beryl scooters are fundamentally useless as they must be picked up and dropped off in a particular place, massively reducing their usefulness especially outside the city centre.
Fundamentally though, the fact that it's illegal to use a scooter unless it's been blessed by the local council is crazy and just allows one company to behave like a monopoly. Voi was never reasonably priced because they never needed to be.