I first started using VOI’s in the Summer, intrigued by these new toys that appeared overnight... I set myself up by downloading the VOI App and verifying my identity using my provisional licence. Once I had done that and entered my payment info I was off!

Scooting down to the harbour in the sunshine. After a coffee, panini, and a brief snoop around the harbour area, I got back to Clifton and parked up. A notification came up on my phone, by Google Pay had just paid £45 to VOI... £45?!! I thought I’d been swindled, and in a way, I had but it was my own fault for not adding up (literally) that being on a scooter for nearly 2 hours at 14p a minute was going to be costly.

After that initial debacle, I learnt the savvy trick is to always buy a day pass, at only £4.99, you get unlimited 45 min rides, and it lasts 24 hours rather than ending at midnight that day. Voi’s were mainly my weekend hop around, to town, the pub (on the way there only I promise!), and to the train station which was far better than the unreliable bus to temple meads that always left me sweating and 10 mins to run to the platform.

At the end of the Summer, when I started to return to doing more in-person work, I decided to give the Voi’s a go for work purposes I worked out that because of the Voi boundaries I couldn’t get all the way to the Greenway Centre, but I could get within a 15 min walk - which actually I knew would be good for my health!

Most days, the journey is a breeze and I know it off by heart now. There is no waiting for buses that don’t arrive, no buses that stop the service halfway for no apparent reason & in fact if I raced a bus, I would still get there quicker I reckon!

However, there are always pros and cons to anything, below I've listed some top tips that I have learnt from being on the scooter so far:

1. People in cars will hate you for no reason...
so, you must be always switched on! If you’re a regular non-car road user, then this is something you may already be wary of; but if you don’t drive or ride a bike like me it’s important to get to grips with the highway code and take extra caution at things like roundabouts, overtaking parked cars and traffic lights (especially if they are at a crossroads!). Voi have a mini safety course you can complete on the app, and they also have videos on YouTube you can watch too.

2. Get a helmet!
I am a bit of a hypocrite here as I still haven’t purchased one, and I am hoping that when this goes public it will encourage me to bite the bullet. As I mentioned above, the roads are dangerous… and especially when people in cars take a disliking to you because you’re on an annoying scooter. The reality is, even the most careful rider can get knocked off, because we just cannot control everything that happens around us. Wearing a helmet may sound obvious, but the informality of the scooter craze has potentially made people forget that it’s still a vehicle at the end of the day. Helmet’s save lives!

3. Bike Lanes Are Your Friend
This might sound obvious, but I see so many people not using the bike lanes, and these are the riders that give scooters a bad name. Bristol is so lucky to have the bike lane network that it does, so utilise them, it often allows you to beat the traffic and not get stuck behind the fumes of a traffic jam too so it’s a win-win! Google Maps has recently updated their journey planner to include Voi too so you can utilise this when scooting around.

4. Wear a Mask
Lastly, I wanted to include this point. As someone with asthma, the major downside to using scooters is the pollution. We can’t escape it, whether I use the bus, walk or scoot; every time I am outside and especially near the busier roads, I am inhaling pollution. But when I am waiting at a light, or in a bus lane (behind a bus) on the scooter, I really notice the fumes and they can sometimes cause me to have to stop and use my inhaler. I have decided to invest in a pollution mask, and even if you don’t have a health condition… they are worthwhile to make your scooter ride, a safer one.

I hope these tips are helpful if you decide to give the scooters a go, once you’ve got the safety element down... they truly are the coolest way to get around the city.