E-scooters in Northampton: Voi hire, the 4am–11pm hours, and where you can ride and park

E-scooters in Northampton: Voi, in a trial since 2020

Voi runs Northampton’s hire e-scooters in the government’s rental trial, hosted for the town by West Northamptonshire Council. The scheme began in early September 2020 with 300 scooters, among the first in England, and the council put Voi’s fleet at about 1,500 in September 2025. Its page names no other operator and mentions e-scooters only, no e-bikes.

On 27 April 2026 the council extended the trial to May 2027, a year before the national trials are due to end. There are conditions: the council’s cabinet member for highways and transport said Voi will be “held firmly” to its commitments, including “improved parking compliance, stronger enforcement against misuse, better rider education”, and that “continued operation of the scheme depends on demonstrable improvements”. The council says many people feel pavement riding, riding two up and underage use haven’t been fully resolved.

At 14:55 on Saturday 24 October 2026 the map of Northampton showed about 1,240 Voi e-scooters: a snapshot, not the fleet size. The count covers the town within its old borough boundary; about 1% of the scooters stood just outside it. The map shows where the scooters stand and their battery, not prices, zones or hours; you unlock and pay in the Voi app.

How much does a Voi e-scooter cost in Northampton?

Neither council publishes Voi’s prices, so check the app: it shows the unlock fee and the rate per minute before you start, and the passes on offer. The council and the University of Northampton describe these ways to pay less:

Over 16,000 traffic school sessions had been completed by September 2025, the council says. New to hire scooters? See how to rent an e-scooter.

Who can ride a Voi, and what gets you fined

You must be 18 or over with a full or provisional driving licence (category Q, which comes with every UK car, moped and motorcycle licence), verified in the Voi app. Visitors can use a full EU or EEA licence, or another country’s full driving licence within 12 months of entering the UK, but never a foreign provisional one.

The protection order applies at all times in public places across the whole town, not just the centre. It is due to expire in December 2026: the council has proposed renewing it for three more years, and its cabinet considers the recommendations in November 2026. If two people on one scooter crash, Voi’s insurers may claim third-party payouts back from all riders, the councils, the police and Voi warned in August 2024.

Don’t take a Voi home: the council says hire scooters must not be kept at private residences. Beginners can limit the speed to 10 mph in the app, it adds. The national rules are in our guide to e-scooter law in the UK.

A private e-scooter is illegal on Northampton’s roads, pavements and cycle lanes and in its parks; you may ride one only on private land with the owner’s permission. Riding one in public counts as riding an uninsured motor vehicle: a £300 fixed penalty and 6 points, and the police can seize it. The University of Northampton doesn’t allow them on its sites either.

Where can you ride a Voi in Northampton?

You may ride on roads (never motorways), in cycle lanes and on cycle routes with the blue bicycle sign, unless a sign bans e-scooters there, the government says, but never on the pavement. In May 2024 the councils, the police and Voi also named shared-use cycle and foot paths, marked by a round blue sign showing a bike and pedestrians. You may ride only within the designated trial zones, the council says, and the app shows where they end.

Inside the trial zone, the Voi app marks the no-ride zones, the slow zones, where the scooter drops to 5 mph, and the no-park zones. The council publishes no map of them, and Voi adjusts its geofencing in problem areas, so check the app before heading into the town centre (Abington Street, the Market Square, the Drapery) or a park such as Abington Park, Becket’s Park or the Racecourse. The council’s pages for those parks say nothing about e-scooters.

• The canal towpath: the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union Canal runs 4.8 miles from Gayton Junction to the River Nene in the town centre, and the Canal & River Trust looks after it. Its Towpath Code says e-scooters “are not allowed”, and the trust has let no trial onto its towpaths.
• Dark evenings: the scooters have front and rear lights and a bell, the council says, and the government advises light-coloured or fluorescent clothing.

Where to park a Voi in Northampton

In May 2024 the councils, the police and Voi said Voi e-scooters may be parked on pavements, except in no-ride and no-park zones, as long as you wheel them onto and off the pavement at the start and end of the ride: no bay needed. Leave the scooter where it won’t block anyone’s way.

The council’s page is clear about no-park zones: “You can not end a ride in a no-park zone. If you do, you will receive a fine and Voi will move the e-scooter.” It doesn’t say who fines you or how much. Voi and the councils design parking areas, and the university’s zones make a ride slightly cheaper.

To report a badly parked or misused Voi, use Voi’s online form and give the time, the place and the scooter’s four-digit ID. Most other trial towns make you end every ride in a bay: see e-scooter hire in the UK.

Buses, trains and Northampton station

No e-scooters on trains or buses. West Northamptonshire Council’s page (September 2025) says e-scooters are not permitted on them. London Northwestern Railway manages Northampton station, and North Gate, near the Market Square, is the town’s bus station: end your ride outside and walk in.

University of Northampton: Voi at Waterside

Voi scooters can be used at all University of Northampton sites, Waterside campus included, and you’ll find them around campus and in the town centre, the university says. Its parking zones, shown in the Voi app, make your journey slightly cheaper, and on campus the scooters are limited to 9 mph.

Private e-scooters are not allowed at the university. It asks students and staff to take one home within 24 hours, after which it may be confiscated. Voi offers student discounts, the university adds; the app shows them.

Voi in Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough and Rushden

Voi also runs North Northamptonshire Council’s scheme, in Burton Latimer, Corby, Higham Ferrers, Kettering, Rushden and Wellingborough. It started in December 2020 and will run until May 2028, the council says. From the launch to May 2026, 58,755 riders made more than 2.92 million trips.

At 14:55 on Saturday 24 October 2026 the map showed about 330 Voi e-scooters in Wellingborough, 330 in Kettering, 230 in Rushden and Higham Ferrers and 210 in Corby: snapshots, not fleet sizes.

Hours may differ there. North Northamptonshire Council and Northamptonshire Police began a six-month trial of round-the-clock hire on 10 February 2025, and the council’s site gives no later word on whether it continued, so check the app before a late ride.

Did you know?

• Northampton was among England’s first trial towns. Voi put 300 scooters on its streets in early September 2020, and the government added Northamptonshire to its list of trial areas on 9 September 2020.
• The night stop used to be longer. In October 2020 the scooters stopped working from 10pm to 4am; now you can hire one until 11pm.
• Every Voi carries a registration number, added in the first weeks of the trial after feedback from the police, the council and the public. Its four digits are what you quote when you report misuse.
• Riding two up gets you banned. By August 2024 Voi had fined or banned 70 people that year for riding with more than one person on board, the councils, the police and Voi said.