Two Years of Zwings’ DfT e-scooter trial in Yeovil
Released On 14th Dec 2022
Zwings has recently celebrated its second birthday in Yeovil where riders have covered almost 200,000 kilometres since the Department for Transport (DfT) e-scooter trials began, the equivalent cumulative distance to travelling the entire way around the equator five times! Zwings' e-scooters will continue to run in Yeovil until end of May 2024 as part of Department for Transport trials.
Zwings in numbers
In Autumn of 2020, Zwings offered Yeovil residents and visitors their first opportunity to travel on e-scooters legally, as part of the nationwide trials launched by the Department for Transport. Since then, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Zwings, who employ 3 full time staff, now has more than 100 vehicles and over 80 parking bays in Yeovil. With the growth in parking bays the service provides for the 10,000+ users making the trial more convenient and accessible than ever.
A sustainable transport choice
Zwings has worked closely with Somerset District Council to make the scheme as sustainable as possible. The e-scooters are serviced by an electric van and the electricity powering the e-scooters is from a100% renewabl electricity generated tariff. This is to lower the emissions travelling by e-scooters to maximise the carbon savings when users switch from using a car. From a recent survey of e-scooter users in Yeovil, 96% said that an e-scooter was an effective replacement for car journeys of less than 3 miles. In the same survey 30% of users had said that they had used an e-scooter instead of a car; approximately 67,000 km of car travel has been replaced by e-scooter usage.
Portfolio Holder for Environment, Councillor Sarah Dyke says, “We are extremely proud of the success the DfT trial of e-scooters has had in Yeovil and are very keen to continue the trial for the extended duration set by the DfT until the end of May 2024. The e-scooter trial enables the local community to access affordable transport options which are also great for reducing emissions and CO2 into the environment.”
Stephen Bee, COO of Zwings, commented, “the scheme in Yeovil has been a huge success over the last two years. Thank you to our partners at the Department of Transport and South Somerset District Council for their support to make the scheme successful. The popularity of the e-scooters in Yeovil shows that residents are ready for e-scooters to become an everyday transport option in the town. For the scheme extension our aim is to make improvements to the availability of e-scooters in Yeovil, to encourage more users from different demographics to try the e-scooters, and to update our e-scooters to further improve safety and rider experience.
Key scheme facts
Users are required to be over the age of 16 and have either a full or provisional driving licence to use an e-scooter. To sign up users need to download the Zwings app here Zwings UK App Download
- If you see any rider misbehaviour (pavement riding or more than one rider) please report via the Zwings Reporting Form. Remember to include the vehicle ID, time and location ideally with a What3words address.
- Full FAQs on the e-scooter scheme can be found on the Zwings website South Somerset District Council’s (SSDC) micro-mobility trial FAQs - Zwings
