E-scooter discount in Yeovil and a special discount for NHS and emergency workers
Released On 11th Nov 2020
Yeovil has gone E Scooter crazy, with over 1,000 sign ups to the Zwings app and 3.5 rides per day, per vehicle, across the 45 fleet of electric vehicles which will increase to 60 to meet demand.
Britain’s leading micro-mobility operator, Zwings, are working in partnership with South Somerset District Council to run a trial scheme of E Scooters across the town of Yeovil. The scheme is being run under the official E Scooter trials initiative, authorised by the Department for Transport (DfT).
The scheme has proved immensely popular with now over 19 parking bays sited around the town and usage of the E Scooters being higher than similar rental services in major capital cities across the world, with over 3.5 riders per day on each vehicle. Zwings’ ‘community first’ model involves working closely with stakeholders in South Somerset in order to continually fine-tune their transport service to best meet localised needs.
In light of the recent national Coronavirus lockdown announcement, the Government has discouraged the use of public transport wherever possible, but requested that local authority Department of Transport E Scooter trials continue.
E Scooters provide a clean, green efficient means of socially distancing and offer riders mental health enhancing benefits whilst travelling in the fresh open air. The focus in Yeovil is therefore to support residents with an accessible transport solution for necessary journeys.
South Somerset District Council portfolio holder for Environment, Councillor Sarah Dyke, said: “South Somerset District Council welcomes the news that we can continue the success of the Yeovil trial E Scooter scheme throughout this new lock down, providing a green alternative to get around and allowing for social distancing.
“As well as providing a key service to the community to make essential journeys, this innovative scheme is a great opportunity to contribute to improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Yeovil. As we continue to deliver our environment strategy and move towards our goal to be carbon neutral by 2030, the success of this scheme could potentially bring a 10% reduction in car use in Yeovil over the 12 month trial period.”
To meet demand, more E Scooters and parking bays are being made available across Yeovil for residents who still need to get to work including hospital workers, key workers and the Covid-19 network. It’s important that the e-scooter network works for the Yeovil community, so Zwings encourage users to propose new parking bay locations. You can recommend new locations by emailing them at community@zwings.co.uk.
Support for NHS and emergency workers
Zwings are playing an important role to support NHS and emergency workers to provide convenient and affordable access to E Scooters to help them commute. They are offering all NHS and emergency workers (police and ambulance) free rides for the duration of the national lockdown.
To sign-up, eligible workers need to submit a form using their work email and identification or Blue Light card via the ‘Contact Us’ page on the Zwings’ website. Once verified, they will then receive an email response with a unique offer code to input into the “My Fleets” section in the mobile app to claim the free rides.
New benefits and offers for all users are always being added, so don’t miss out and stay up to date with Zwings via their social media channels.
Community heroes can win free rental credits
Get involved with the #CommunityHeroes programme.
Here’s how you can get involved:
Zwings wants to hear about your community hero story of how you or someone you know is supporting family and neighbours during lockdown. You can nominate yourself, friends or relatives by tagging @zwingsmobility and the nominee on your Instagram story and writing the caption #CommunityHeroes.
Follow this up with a direct message to Zwings explaining how the nominee is helping the community during lockdown.
Zwings will then send you an offer code to claim some free rental credits (offer ends 2nd December 2020)
Supporting local businesses with e-scooter solutions
Zwings can also offer solutions for delivery riders at local restaurants and other places of business who need to make their deliveries in a convenient, socially distant and affordable manner. Now more than ever, a collaborative approach is needed with local businesses to keep them running. If you’re interested in learning about their discounted offers for monthly rentals, then please get in touch at community@zwings.co.uk.
Increased hygiene measures to protect riders and staff
Safety is always the top priority at Zwings, and they’re taking additional action to protect users, wider community and staff, following the government’s guidelines for protective measures as well as local recommendations and restrictions. As well as receiving regular sanitisation spray downs each day, Zwings are also applying state-of-the-art copper tape to the handle grips, which is indicated to kill 99.98% of pathogens left on the surface.
Joe Lewin, Zwings’ Founder and CEO says: “It is part of Zwings’ core ethos to support the South Somerset community during this second lockdown in a hyper localised manner. We recognise the important role our e-scooters play in helping key workers to travel at a social distance but also to help relieve stress from a hard day at work. We are working closely with local representatives in Yeovil to tailor our service to best support key workers.
We will continue to enhance our operations as we learn more about COVID-19 in line with government guidelines, and remain committed to providing each of our communities across the UK with reliable, safe and sustainable transportation during these unique times.”
Rider tips to keep you and the people around you safe
In a collective effort, we ask all riders to respect the government and NHS guidance relating to hygiene and social distancing which includes washing/sanitising your hands before and after you use the E Scooters. We also encourage riders to wear a mask when near other people. For more information and guidance please visit the NHS website or Government website.
Keep an eye out for Zwings field technicians (Fleet Angels) patrolling in their new electric van to maintain, sanitise and rebalance the e-scooters. They welcome any member of the community to reach out to ask them any questions at Community@zwings.co.uk.
