Bolt is taking over the contract for e-vehicles in the city from previous provider Voi
Bolt is taking over the contract for e-vehicles in the city from previous provider Voi
19:30, 27 Jan 2026
A fleet of new e-scooters and e-bikes are to go live across Liverpool from this weekend as the city council marks the start of its new partnership with an Estonian firm. Out are Voi’s coral coloured vehicles and in come Bolt’s green livery as 2,000 e-scooters and 150 e-bikes will be available as far as Speke and Garston from February 1.
Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Liverpool marks Bolt’s latest foray into the UK market and its first city in this country to host scooters. A series of new features will be available to users including measures to prevent drunk riding.
The city has been selected as the first location in the UK to receive Bolt’s solar-assisted shared e-bikes, each fitted with an integrated solar panel to extend battery life. Cllr Dan Barrington, Liverpool Council cabinet member for transport and connectivity, said he was keen for the government to make the vehicles a permanent fixture.
Bolt will introduce a distance-based pricing option for riders, allowing users to pay per mile rather than per minute. The model is designed to promote safer, slower riding by removing incentives to rush journeys, take risks at busy junctions, or park improperly to minimise costs.
To encourage safe, considerate use, the e-scooters come equipped with safety and parking features, including a maximum speed limit, AI-powered photo validation to ensure proper parking, and a test to prevent drunk riding.
In the coming weeks, Bolt will also begin rolling out a new generation of shared e-bikes across Liverpool in phases. The solar-assisted shared e-bikes are each fitted with an integrated solar panel to extend battery life.
The solar panels are expected to save up to 3.7 kWh of energy per bike per year, equivalent to avoiding more than six battery swaps annually, helping to improve vehicle availability, reduce operational downtime and lower environmental impact. The e-bikes will also have regenerative braking technology, converting braking energy into electricity to further power the bike.
Cllr Barrington said: “We’re really pleased to be launching this and to see it expanding right across the city. There’s marked out parking spaces where people can park through the app and software that checks people are parking them in the right place.
“I think it’s really important for users and I think a lot of people have wanted to see us expand it right across the city and businesses as well. So particularly conversations with like the airports, they’ve got workers that want to be able to use them to get to work. I think it’s really important and from a sustainable travel point of view, we know it can cut car journeys and give people a different way to travel.
“I think these are going to be successful. I think our trial up to now has been successful and we are encouraging the Department for Transport to put the proper legislation in place to move away from trial and to permanent. A few years ago I gave evidence to the transport select committee about e-scooters as well and we really want to see that legislation come forward.”
Previous operator Voi’s distinctive scooters adopted areas from Liverpool Council following the closure of its CityBike scheme. A local authority cabinet report in 2022 said the size of the CityBike scheme reduced year on year, due to theft and vandalism, coupled with a lack of available funding to invest in new bikes.
As a result, the scheme became what the council described as “unsustainable” due to the annual losses of around £300k each year. As a result, Voi stepped into the breach under a government trial system which had originally been slated to end in November 2021.
This was extended until March 2022 to take into account the slower start as a result of the pandemic. Trials were further extended to the end of May 2024.
In November 2023, the Department for Transport announced a further extension of the trial up to May this year. Voi confirmed in an email earlier this month it would no longer operate in the city as of February.
Georgia Heathman, Bolt’s UK policy lead, said: “Liverpool is a city with huge potential for shared, sustainable transport. By expanding scooters and e-bikes across the entire city, introducing distance-based pricing, and rolling out our most advanced e-bikes to date, we’re making it much easier for people to get around while also reducing car traffic.”
