Mystery deepens as Slough’s e-scooter hire scheme app disappears

The mystery of what’s happened to Slough’s e-scooter hire scheme has deepened after the company’s app has disappeared from online stores with ‘no clear time when it will be fixed’.
E-scooters run by Zipp Mobility were taken off the road in June just a month after a Slough Borough Council-backed trial hire scheme began due to an unforeseen issue. Almost two months later, the company has remained tight-lipped on what the issue is.
But a Zipp Mobility customer service agent told the LDRS there was a ‘big issue with the app’ and that there was ‘no clear time when it will be fixed’.
The Zipp e-scooter hire scheme was launched in Slough for a trial run on May 28 this year. But the scooters have been ‘unavailable to hire’ since at least June 24.
The issues have also put similar e-scooter hire schemes out of action in Buckinghamshire and Somerset. A statement from Somerset Council issued in July said the scheme there was halted ‘due to an unexpected supplier issue’.
Meanwhile Pembrokeshire Council runs a Zipp e-bike hire scheme in the towns of Haverfordwest, Fishguard, Goodwick and Tenby. But the link to the app needed to hire the e-bikes no longer works.
Slough Council told the LDRS e-bikes are still available to hire for customers who already have the app and an update would be provided ‘within the next few days’. The authority said a new app could be found by searching for ‘Zipp app’ on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
But when the LDRS found and downloaded a Zipp app, a notification said the service would end on May 5, with a reduced service from April 19. And an agent on a Zipp customer service helpline said there had been a ‘big issue’ with the system that had been going on for ‘a few weeks’.
They said the company was ‘trying to fix it but there’s currently no clear time’. And they said even current users wouldn’t be able to hire an e-bike.
Zipp Mobility has refused to say what the issue is that is affecting its service. Speaking earlier this month Charlie Wilson, UK country manager for Zipp Mobility, told the LDRS the company hoped to bring the scooters back ‘as quickly as possible’.
He said: “As you have noticed our scooters are still off the roads and are unavailable for hire.
“We are working closely with Slough council and other affected areas on a solution that will bring e-scooters back to Slough as quickly as possible. We should be in a position to update on this soon.”
Mr Wilson did not respond to requests for further information on the unexpected problem. But he said the scheme was run ‘at no cost to Slough Council’.
Zipp Mobility and Pembrokeshire Council have been contacted for further comment. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​