The e-scooters that have proved such a hit in York will be gone within weeks.
Tier, which operates the e-scooter and e-bike rental scheme in the city, is pulling out on 31 May.
Now City of York Council is looking to see if it can bring in another operator. But given that Tier said it was withdrawing from York because the scheme wasn’t making enough money, that may prove a challenge.
Tier launched the e-scooter rental trial in York in October 2020, its first UK city launch. Beginning at the university and hospital, the trial has been expanded to cover much of the wider city.
In April 2021, e-bikes were added to the scooters.
City of York Councillors unanimously voted to extend Tier’s contract after the initial 12 months of operation.
At that time, Tier’s York manager Jessica Hall said the e-scooters “have been hugely popular in York”.
To date, York riders have clocked up over 820,000 miles, with over half a million journeys taken by nearly 60,000 users.
But that is not enough to make it profitable, Tier said today.
Jessica Murphy, Tier’s head of public policy UK, said: “It is with a heavy heart that we have chosen not to continue operating in York beyond the end of our existing contract.
“In light of both our path to profitability and the way our business has developed in the UK, we have had to take the difficult decision to focus our resources in other locations with stronger long-term growth potential.”
She added: “Each city has its own unique set up and unfortunately York’s size and geography make it difficult for us to run financially self-sustaining service in the long run.
“City of York Council have been unfailingly supportive of the scheme since its inception and we wish them every success in their future active travel plans.”
York’s e-scooter rental scheme was part of the Department for Transport micro-mobility trial.
The council didn’t fund the service, and only lead on selecting the operator for the city.
Cllr Pete Kilbane, the council’s executive member for economy and transport, said the council was disappointed that Tier was withdrawing from the city.
“Participating in the Department for Transport trial enabled York to gain valuable insight into the use of e-scooters and e-bikes, and how we might look to make these permanent sustainable transport options in future.
“We’ve had an excellent partnership working with Tier over the years, and we’d like to thank them for working on the trial here in York.”
He added: “The temporary government legislation for the trials are still in place, so we are in discussion with the Department for Transport about the options we have for a new operator to run an e-scooter trials in York”.
The council is having discussions with other providers, but there are no further updates on that at this stage.
It is not legal to ride a private e-scooter on the highway now and this will remain illegal when the trial ends.