The Swifty Podcast #21 - New Swifty HQ, Diversifying, GM Clean Air Zone & UK E-scooter Regs
Swifty HQ
The Swifty Podcast #21 - New Swifty HQ, Diversifying, GM Clean Air Zone & UK E-scooter Regs
After a seven month hiatus The Swifty Podcast is back! Jason and Camilla discuss the many exciting developments which occurred last year, as well as looking towards what’s happening in 2022.
They chat briefly about Swifty Fitness and it’s development since being launched in 2020, plus the business move towards the end of summer last year, which saw Swifty HQ take up residence in the picturesque town of Poynton following a decade at the Salford base.
During COP 26 last autumn, we supplied a fleet of scooters to a new co-working space in Glasgow called Cadworks. It’s a £30 million development and is one of the city's first net zero office buildings, featuring Glasgow's first cycle-in access ramp, extensive cycling facilities and recycled construction materials – all of which chimes with Swifty’s own eco-philosophy.
Talk also turns to the much-anticipated Swifty Kickstand (made at Swifty HQ!) and how this piece of kit really stands out from the traditional leaning/side scooter kickstands in terms of maintaining stability for the stationary Swifty Scooter.
Camilla offers an update on the existing legislation around e-scooters, which are currently classed as ‘powered transporters’ and as such are treated in the same way as motor vehicles, with pavements and cycle paths being strictly off limits. The government is consulting on whether to change the law to make e-scooter use legal and is set to deliver a verdict in March.
With Greater Manchester introducing a charging Clean Air Zone from May 2022 - which will see the most polluting commercial and passenger vehicles having to pay a daily charge to travel in the zone - Camilla discusses some of the challenges for smaller, independent business vehicles, and if it really is a viable scheme.
See a brief summary of what was talked about and skip ahead to a section in the conversation below:
00:45 – Swifty Fitness update and discussion around our new business premises
07:44 – Supply chain issues forced us to diversify company, resulting in the development of Swifty Fitness
11:30 – We supplied a fleet of scooters to a new co-working space in Glasgow during COP 26
16:08 – Looking ahead at what 2022 holds for Swifty Scooters, including looking at the new scooter colours (which are now in stock), our new partnership/distributor in Europe and the Swifty Kickstand
28:20 – An update on the current legislation around e-scooters and if any potential changes might occur in the coming months
40:28 – A discussion around Greater Manchester introducing a charging Clean Air Zone, which comes into play 30th May this year
48: 40 – Brief chat around the launch of a new e-scooter for the Swifty range
