Tier-Dott e-scooter contract renewed in Bristol region as new parking bays promised
Tier-Dott will continue operating the e-scooter rental scheme in the Bristol region after the company’s contract was extended. New parking bays for e-scooters should also soon be created in the city centre and Clifton before Easter.
The contract renewal dashes hopes that Voi, the former operator, will return to Bristol any time soon. The West of England Combined Authority reviewed how Tier-Dott has fared so far, since taking over the contract and hiking up prices, and decided to allow the firm to continue.
According to a source familiar with the matter, as well as renewing the contract, the combined authority has allocated money to Bristol City Council to create new physical parking infrastructure for the e-scooters, “ahead of a wider upgrade in the medium term”.
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However, Tier-Dott has faced criticism from some users of the scheme, which also includes electric bicycles, due to a range of problems including higher prices, faulty kickstands and a less user-friendly app. One councillor said the combined authority should “hold the firm to account”.
Green Councillor Toby Wells, who sits on the West of England overview and scrutiny committee, said: “The e-scooters and e-bikes in Bristol are used by thousands of people every day, allowing them to get around conveniently and sustainably. Since Dott took over Tier, the level of service has degraded and prices have gone up without warning.
“First, the ‘long-term rental’ scooters were removed with 24 hours notice, and users are still waiting to hear when they will come back. The prices, which were already higher than Tier’s, recently went up by 37.5 per cent with little communication or justification. As a regular (almost daily) user, I was already worse off since Dott took over, and now it has gone up even more.
“Having the exclusive contract to operate hire bikes and scooters in our city is a privilege, not a right, and I sincerely hope that WECA is going to hold Dott to account, so that we can have an affordable and reliable micromobility service for the people of Bristol.”
Both Tier-Dott and the West of England Combined Authority were asked to comment. The combined authority has also failed to respond to a freedom of information request within the legal deadline, requesting information about the review into the e-scooter contract.
The request, submitted at the start of December, asked: “What are the terms of the review into the e-scooter contract? What are the monthly ridership figures over the past four years? How many complaints have been received each month regarding scooters over the past two years?”
The law says that public authorities must respond to freedom of information requests within 20 working days. It’s understood that a response is still being worked on, with one expected soon.
The review into the contract was first revealed last September, in a report to the West of England Combined Authority committee. The review looked at value for residents, benefits of continuity of the service and performance against key undisclosed indicators.
The report added that if a new company was chosen to run the rental scheme, there would be a risk that the service “may not be of the same level of value as that currently in place”, which “may result in reputational damage for the combined authority”.
Pink e-scooters began to be a common sight in Bristol in 2020, when Voi first won the contract to run the rental scheme. Then the Swedish firm lost the contract to Tier in 2023, and the scooters switched from pink to green. Last year, Dott took over Tier, and the two firms merged.