The firm running the e-scooter trial in the Bristol region has denied a plan to stop sharing income with councils. Tier-Dott recently had its contract renewed in the West of England, but staff at Bristol City Council warned the firm was hoping to “significantly reduce revenue share”.
The deal with Tier-Dott was initially expected to bring in millions of pounds to the West of England Combined Authority, which would then be divvied out to the three local councils in the region. Bristol was expecting to get £500,000 this year out of the deal, however now expects just £350,000 instead.
Shortly after the contract renewal was revealed, a recent council report suggested this revenue sharing deal could be completely scrapped. This was denied by the company, which pledged to continue sharing some of its income from the trial for the next two years.
An update on council finances was given to Bristol councillors on the transport policy committee on Thursday, February 6. This included a report that suggested the e-scooter contract was “under-performing”, while one councillor said the loss of the income would be a “poor show”.
The report said: “WECA has recently advised that there is a break clause in the contract at which point the revenue share can be renegotiated and that the intention based on pressure from the contractor is to significantly reduce the revenue share and potentially remove it.
“More detail will emerge as the process is completed to extend the contract and renegotiate the revenue share. Revised savings allocation indicates likelihood of income disappearing part way through next year and currently seems unlikely there will be significant income going forward.”
During the committee meeting, Labour Councillor Tim Rippington added: “WECA has recently advised that there’s a break clause in the contract, and the provider wants to negotiate out of our share of the contract. Given that nobody’s very happy with the performance of the scooter provider, it seems a bit of a poor show that they want to take away our revenue from the trial.”
The contract renewal means Tier-Dott is likely to keep operating e-scooters in the region for at least another couple of years, dashing hopes that Voi, the former operator, will return any time soon. The renewal comes after the West of England reviewed how the contract is faring so far.
Alex Hearn, director of economy of place, said: “The contract is managed between the combined authority and the provider. But we have obviously made our representations on this issue.” Asked if he represented Bristol’s views “strongly”, Mr Hearn replied: “And repeatedly.”
Details of the combined authority’s review are unclear, and a response to a freedom of information request regarding this is well overdue the legal time limit. A spokesman for Tier-Dott said the firm had never had a commercial agreement with Bristol City Council, but confirmed its “ongoing commitment” to the West of England region.
They added: “The company provides funding to the mayoral combined authority through both a fixed annual fee and a revenue share model. TIER-Dott has recently renewed its contract in the West of England for a further two years and will continue to provide funding for the duration of this agreement.”
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.