New Voi leaders in UK
James Bolton, general manager Voi UK. CREDIT: Voi
Micromobility company Voi has announced new changes at the top in the company’s UK team.
James Bolton has just been made general manager for the UK, where Voi operates e-scooters in 13 towns and cities including London and Liverpool, with e-bikes in two cities.
He originally started with Voi in January 2021 as a city success manager, before being promoted to senior city success manager and then head of city success. James will now lead the organisation in the UK.
He will report to Christina Moe Gjerde, who is regional manager for Voi’s new Northern Europe region, incorporating the Nordics, UK and Belgium.
James said: “I’m excited to be leading Voi in the UK, where we have a first-rate team of about 150 people.
“We have seen rider numbers increase each year in our UK markets and more people are choosing e-scooters and e-bikes for their daily commute.
“The potential in the UK is huge - but we need the government to empower cities to introduce e-scooter trials where there’s local support and then progress long awaited legislation to make rental e-scooter schemes permanent.
“Existing trials have been extended until May 2026, but before then communities should be able to benefit from zero emission transport which is affordable for riders and operates at no cost to councils.
“We are also working with the Department for Transport and councils to ensure that micromobility contracts are financially sustainable by avoiding onerous city requirements like revenue shares. Revenue shares drive down the ability to run a financially sustainble scheme and increase the likelihood of operators prematurely exiting markets posing a risk to cities.
“E-scooters and e-bikes provide safe and reliable transport for a diverse set of people. Unlike other forms of public transport, local authorities do not subsidise micromobility schemes, but providers cannot operate our services as cash cows for financially-constrained councils.”
New legislation, when it is brought in, is due to set up a new light zero emission vehicle category, to better regulate rental and private e-scooters across areas such as insurance, vehicle standards and user requirements.
Christina has been with Voi since August 2019, starting as a strategy and planning manager and promoted through the ranks to managing the Nordics and Benelux region, before now taking on the new Northern Europe region.
Under her leadership, Voi has had a 100 per cent success rate in winning tenders in Norway and become the number one operator in the Nordics, operating in more than 30 cities in the region.
She said: “I’m thrilled to be taking on this new challenge of overseeing Voi in the UK. I’m looking forward to working with James and the whole of the UK team together as a large region to further improve our operations and service."
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Juliette Maxam, Senior PR manager, Voi UK, Ireland and France
juliette.maxam@voiapp.io
About Voi
Founded in 2018, Voi is a Swedish micromobility company offering e-scooter and e-bike sharing in partnership with towns, cities and local communities. We believe e-scooters can play a central role in changing how people move in our towns and cities in the future. We want to ensure that the micromobility transformation happens the right way - through real innovative technology, open and transparent dialogue with towns, cities and governments and by adapting our products to local needs. Voi’s holistic Environmental Action Plan tackles emissions and promotes renewable energy use and circularity along its supply chain.
Voi operates in over 100 towns and cities across 12 countries. It is headquartered in Stockholm and employs 1,000 people. To date, Voi boasts more than seven million riders and has served more than 150+ million rides.
