Ireland’s leading multi mobility app FREE NOW is partnering with Munster Rugby as its Official Mobility App Partner until 2025. The new partnership will bring FREE NOW and Munster Rugby together for the 2022-23 season and over the next three years.
This announcement builds on FREE NOW’s commitment to support local communities and organisations across the country by providing them with flexible and sustainable transport solutions to help meet Ireland’s changing transport needs.
Since launching its sustainable ECO booking (EV/hybrid) option on the app last year for passengers in Cork, the uptake of green journeys on the FREE NOW app has grown by 430% with 28% of the fleet in Cork being ECO. This function will be available to Munster Rugby supporters, staff and players, facilitating more sustainable transport choices in line with the team’s matches and travel requirements.
As part of the partnership, fans attending the upcoming matches will be able to participate in competitions for a chance to win FREE NOW vouchers.
Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Regional Development Manager for FREE NOW, Denis Fogarty said, “We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Munster Rugby for the next three years and as a former Munster player myself for over 12 years, I am really excited about this new sponsorship and to see FREE NOW supporting sport in the Munster region.
FREE NOW has been providing public transport solutions for passengers in Cork for almost 10 years now and we look forward to expanding our offering further in the coming years in the region, helping more people get from A to B thanks to our fleet of driver partners across the country.”
Welcoming the news of the partnership, CEO of Munster Rugby, Ian Flanagan said, “We are delighted to partner with FREE NOW in expanding our offering to our support base. Working with an organisation with a shared sense of community and sustainability at the centre of its offering is hugely important to us and we look forward to the next three years with FREE NOW.”
Ireland’s leading mobility app FREE NOW has partnered with the world’s largest micro-mobility provider TIER Mobility to launch FREE NOW’s first integration of e-bikes in Ireland. TIER’s e-bikes will be available to book through the FREE NOW app alongside taxis from later this week.
This partnership forms part of FREE NOW’s ambition to offer a wider range of sustainable, low-emission and efficient transport options to passengers in Ireland, enabling users to choose a more multi-modal approach to meet individual and changing transport needs. This mirrors what FREE NOW offers in other markets across Europe including France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Italy where passengers can book e-scooters, e-bikes, e-mopeds, taxis and even car sharing options in certain locations all in one app.
The initial rollout will include 100 battery power-assisted TIER e-bikes in Blanchardstown, Swords, Malahide, Baldoyle, Portmarnock and Howth. Additional roll-outs will take place across Fingal County over the coming months and will bring the total number of e-bikes available to 400. The introduction of e-bikes will help with Fingal County Council’s aim of making active travel the preferred mode of travel for journeys under 5km. Users can locate and book the e-bikes through the FREE NOW app under the new option ‘2-wheels’ and use them within the Fingal County area.
FREE NOW’s e-bike partnership with TIER follows a successful e-scooter trial across five DCU campuses which began in July 2021, allowing passengers in DCU to book a TIER e-scooter via the FREE NOW app. This e-scooter trial has provided both mobility companies with key learnings that have been utilised in the e-bike launch. FREE NOW is looking forward to welcoming e-scooters into the app early next year in line with approved legislation.
Commenting on the e-bike launch, Niall Carson, General Manager of FREE NOW Ireland said: “At FREE NOW we are committed to enabling passengers to make smart and sustainable transport decisions as part of the national effort to build a greener and more sustainable transport infrastructure. We are delighted to launch e-bikes in our app in conjunction with TIER, one of our key partners in the micro-mobility sector. The integration of electric, micro-mobility on the FREE NOW app will enable our passengers to consider more sustainable transport choices in addition to our ECO booking taxi option. After the success of our e-scooter trial last year and now this e-bike launch, we are excited about what the future holds for FREE NOW in the multi-mobility space in Ireland.”
Also commenting on the e-bike launch, Peadar Golden, Ireland Country Manager from TIER said: “ Our TIER e-bikes are a great sustainable and active way for people to make journeys across Fingal County. It is fantastic to be able to bring our partnership with FREE NOW to more people in Ireland and be able to offer multi-modal journey options through the FREE NOW app. Our mission is to change mobility for good, and by offering people easy access to ways of getting around that don’t rely on a private car, be that by e-bike, e-scooter or taxi, we can play a part in making our cities healthier and more pleasant places to be.”
To celebrate their new partnership launch FREE NOW is offering a limited time discount for you to try an e-bike! Get €6 off your first e-bike trip with the code FREE2BIKE valid until 28.08.2022.
Newly founded sustainable e-scooter startup Äike, launches the first electric scooter designed and assembled entirely in Europe using solely renewable energy. Developed in partnership with leading IoT company, Comodule, their newest model Äike T, is also the only e-scooter to have USB-C charging capabilities.
With e-scooter trials proving immensely popular in the UK and 180,000 people taking over half a million trips in London alone from June 2021 – February 2022, the market for sustainable travel is booming. In its highly anticipated Transport Bill, the UK Government intends to acknowledge this appetite for e-scooters and other low-speed, zero-emission vehicles (LZEV) amongst the public by recognising them in new legislation later this year.
Äike is committed to making e-scooters and zero-emission commuting accessible to everyone by being regionally compliant with all legislation and integrating unrivalled safety, stability and durability into its product range. The company actively seeks materials from responsible local recycled suppliers, ensuring a supply and distribution chain that is as close to the manufacturing facility as possible, free of conflict and fully reliable/traceable while ensuring 92% of the materials used to produce its e-scooters are recyclable.
Kristjan Maruste, Co-founder of Comodule and now CEO and Head of Product for Äike, commented: “Äike is a true passion project of mine as I feel we are filling a huge gap in the micro mobility market. After 7 years in the industry, I find it crazy how the e-bike boom in Europe has brought us to around 5 million e-bikes sold per year with more than 50% made in Europe, whereas with over a million e-scooters being bought annually, virtually no one manufactures in Europe. This has left e-scooters in the background as the vast majority of them are not sustainable, comfortable or safe at all. Äike is here to change that. There obviously is a demand, and we are here to meet that with a sustainable, durable, inclusive, IoT-connected, safe and genuinely best version of what they are looking for. We’re currently still in our launch phase, but we are very well positioned to grow fast as we control the full process in-house from design to production to delivery.”
Äike’s e-scooters are built for all metropolitan streets. The Äike T is weatherproof, durable and can be ridden smoothly over potholes and curbs without compromising on important motor power and speed safety regulations across cities worldwide. On one full charge, the Äike T has a 40km range. When needed to charge again, Äike has made its removable battery compatible with any port using a USB-C laptop charger, which eliminates excess charger waste. While Äike’s e-scooters are designed to be easily transportable indoors, they can be safely left on the street thanks to the IoT-integrated threefold anti-theft GPS lock protection system provided by Comodule.
Äike is paving the way for a new era of micro-mobility by offering a fully connected experience. On top of GPS protection, each e-scooter comes with Comodule’s own IoT device and passport that allows exclusive access to the Äike app and enables remote customer support, instant firmware updates, and e-scooter performance monitoring, offering commuters a unique connected riding experience.
The Äike e-scooter is available for pre-order from July 6th for a €69 deposit. Final prices start from €999.
Today, UK micromobility startup bo announces its first product, the bo M. bo M is a radical rethink and total redesign of the e-scooter, introducing the single biggest innovation leap in scooter technology: Safesteer™.
With electric scooters traditionally seen as unsafe and unreliable, bo exists to set new standards in safety, comfort and design. bo M is the world’s first electric scooter focused on empowering people to transition out from their cars.
“We spent 3 years developing the bo M for everyone who can see the potential of the e-scooter, but who finds today’s scooters too unsafe, impractical for daily use, or simply not well designed” says Oscar Morgan, bo CEO. “Our mission has been to develop game-changing features and safety enhancements such as Safesteer, whilst using our experience in automotive design to build a scooter people feel proud to own and ride.
Grounded in safety, bo M features Safesteer™ riding stabilisation alongside the 360 degree Light Halo system. For unrivalled comfort the bo M uses Airdeck and refined vehicle geometry with a generous wheelbase, optimised steerer angle and wide handlebars. Finally, challenging traditional scooter design, the unique bo Monocurve chassis and seamless feature integration combine to deliver an exceptional commuting experience.
The new safety standard | SafesteerTM
A world first in electric scooters, bo is introducing active riding stabilisation with SafesteerTM technology, setting the benchmark for control and confidence.
The technology stabilises and smoothes the steering across bumps, dips and potholes to keep the rider in perfect control.
This fundamental shift in vehicle dynamics means the single greatest concern of new and experienced e-scooter riders is eliminated.
Light Signature | 360 Light Halo 360 degree Light Halo and high power headlight for forward visibility
bo’s distinctive Daytime Running Light (DRL) wraps around the Monocurve chassis to create Light Halo, a world first in the sector: 360 degree light visibility. This signature design dramatically increases road presence and awareness from other road users.
Alongside Light Halo, a powerful secondary headlight illuminates the road ahead, while a wide-angle high-lumen rear light keeps you seen from behind, flashing brightly when users brake.
Comfort | Airdeck
Searching for an optimised solution to ride comfort led to bo M’s engineered elastomer Airdeck, based on the same material technology found in high performance running trainers. The lightweight deck panel is tuned to remove road vibrations – removing the need for complex and ineffective suspension systems.
With 50km of range, all day riding comfort is the priority: Airdeck, plus wide pneumatic tyres keep the road bumps out. Additionally, the bo M geometry is optimised for stability and ergonomics, including wider handlebar at 580mm, a generous 930mm wheelbase for more standing room, and a 76 degree steering angle for naturally controlled dynamics.
Punctures are a common commuter concern, so the bo M is specified with high quality tubeless pneumatic tyres – eliminating pinch punctures and maximising grip on the road.
The shape of things to come | Monocurve chassis
Reshaping the electric scooter with bo’s unique Monocurve chassis represents a foundational shift in vehicle design and engineering – the single greatest sector advancement since electric scooters arrived in our cities.
Alongside strength and reliability, bo M’s aluminium chassis has been designed to enable every innovation, from Safesteer to Lock and Load, Light Halo to Airdeck, without adding complexity for the user.
The unbroken Monocurve chassis is the first structure in this sector designed to true automotive principles, seamlessly combining function with design
Harry Wills, bo CTO added, “Aware that to some it is controversial, we made a conscious decision to eliminate the fold, launching bo M with an unbroken Monocurve chassis.
“bo M is designed for commuters travelling home to work who value exceptional ride, safety and reliability above all else. Creating this new category, between a traditional e-scooter and an e-bike, our research discovered that the majority of people seldom or never use the fold. It represented a point of weakness, so that directed us to this final design”
Bags of potential | Lock and Load
E-scooter riders no longer have to be restricted to a backpack. The bo Monocurve chassis does not twist as you steer, keeping luggage hooked on the two secure load hooks stable and swing-free while you ride.
The hidden, built-in steel dual mount system doubles as a locking point – making it simple to secure the bo M with confidence using a standard D-lock. For full peace of mind should the owner lose sight of their bo M, the bosecure system of GPS tracking, motor locking, loud anti-tamper alarms and mobile notifications kick in.
The bo M is available for pre-order from bo.world. RRP £1,995 or £69 p/m. Shipping Spring ‘23
Lime – the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company – has today announced the establishment of an Irish Disability Advisory Board ahead of its expected rollout of e-scooter and e-bike sharing services in Irish towns and cities next year.
The Irish Wheelchair Association and the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) will be founding members of the board, which will also be supported by local cycling organisations. The group is being established to help ensure that Lime’s for-hire e-scooter and e-bike services are designed in a safe and responsible way, without negatively impacting local residents or visitors with disabilities or access needs. Lime welcomes further applications from relevant organisations to the Board.
John Fulham, Public Engagement Manager for the Irish Wheelchair Association said, “Irish Wheelchair Association welcomes the opportunity to be involved in Lime’s Irish Disability Advisory Board, where we can offer our advice and represent the voice of people with disabilities as the country prepares for the official introduction of e-scooters in Ireland. It is important that the voice of disabled people is heard and represented in the discussions from as early a stage as is possible.”
Lorna Fitzpatrick, Advocacy and Engagement Manager at NCBI said, “NCBI is happy to participate in Lime’s Irish Disability Advisory Board to share our views that are reflective of the experiences of people who are blind or vision impaired across the country. It is of paramount importance that the experiences of people living with sight loss and all people with access and mobility requirements are heard and considered as Lime prepares to create a presence in Ireland.”
Hal Stevenson, Lime Senior Public Affairs Manager for Lime in Ireland said, “Safety and inclusivity are central to Lime’s services, wherever we operate, so we’re really proud to be setting up our Irish Disability Advisory Board ahead of the launch of our services here next year. Each organisation provides a different perspective, and their insights and opinions will help us to design and deliver services that can have a positive impact across all communities.”
The Board’s first meeting will take place in July and will meet on a quarterly basis thereafter. Minutes and actions will be recorded during each meeting and shared with Lime’s partner local authorities to ensure full transparency and accountability. The group will be consulted ahead of Lime implementing any new products or service changes in Ireland. Lime will also provide opportunities for the Board to collaborate with its pre-existing Northern European Disability Advisory Board.
Following recent delays to e-scooter legislation in Ireland, Lime is expecting to launch services here in 2023. Commenting on delays to the Government’s legislation to regulate e-scooters, Stevenson added, “the delays to legislation are unfortunate and prevent safer and more sustainable use of e-scooters in Ireland. Lime is using this additional time to work with the policy makers to ensure that when regulations are passed they are progressive and proportionate, helping to create a future of transport in Ireland that is shared, green and affordable.”
CWSI, one of Europe’s most experienced mobile and cloud security specialists, is today announcing that it has redefined the retail experience for ŠKODA UK with a fully managed and highly secure Ivanti mobile solution delivered to its approximately 130 retailers in the UK.
ŠKODA is one of the world’s oldest car manufacturers, with its origins dating back to 1895. Since joining the Volkswagen Group in 1991, it has become one of the most successful automotive brands, having established a presence in more than 100 markets worldwide.
To support the growth of the brand and the ever-adapting automotive markets, ŠKODA UK wanted to increase customer satisfaction throughout the car purchasing process with the use of digital tools. It needed an integrated and mobile digital solution to present sales collateral such as brochures and informational materials to customers, as its processes were primarily paper based. The brand was also developing Digital Assistant, an iOS-based app used by sales teams to view and provide detailed information on every ŠKODA model.
CWSI won the contract and designed a Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solution based on Ivanti Cloud technology. This has enabled the seamless rollout and management of nearly 1,000 iPad devices across ŠKODA’s 130 UK retailers. As well as providing a collaborative, centrally managed platform for these point-of-sale devices, the secure solution underpins the company’s revolutionary retail experience for customers – the Digital Assistant app. CWSI worked closely with the development team in the creation of the app and its insights were crucial and shaped how the app was developed.
Following the rollout, retailers can host virtual appointments via the iPads with customers who may not wish to visit the showroom, or give vehicle tours to customers from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, ŠKODA saw an uplift of +0.4 in the customer experience score when an iPad was used. It also saw a similar uplift in salesperson knowledge scores. CWSI’s deployment saves valuable time for employees by providing all necessary information at their fingertips. The mobile and adaptable nature of the managed iPad solution is also ideally placed to support remote or hybrid working.
CWSI manages the lifecycle of the fleet of iPads from procurement right through to decommissioning. CWSI has Ivanti Premier Partner status as well as one of the largest in-house teams of accredited Ivanti engineers and support analysts in the UK. CWSI also provides point of contact support and manages repair should a technical issue arise, ensuring business continuity.
Chris Batty, Digital Experience Manager, ŠKODA UK: “ŠKODA is known for producing some of the best cars on the market and we needed a customer experience to match that. We required an all-encompassing solution and through leveraging modern technologies, we have built an industry-leading sales tool. Enabled by CWSI’s management solution, customer satisfaction scores have increased and sales teams are more empowered.
“Ultimately, the solution is helping to drive profitability for the brand and is now an integral part of the ŠKODA customer journey.”
Ronan Murphy, CEO, CWSI:“Having previously worked with CWSI, ŠKODA knew we could be trusted to deliver the next phase of its journey. CWSI provides a fully managed proactive service for the devices which requires no action on ŠKODA’s part, which is something retailers appreciate as they can focus on their core business.
“This leading mobility solution with best of breed security, compliance, device management controls and functionality has amplified the customer experience for ŠKODA. It has future proofed the company’s retail operation, underpinning the Digital Assistant app and truly allowing sales employees to be product experts. Our own product team is continually monitoring potential enhancements to Ivanti’s products and any other changes that may affect ŠKODA’s solution. The adaptable, scalable deployment was built with the future in mind.”
Bird, a leader in micro-mobility, and Drinkaware, the national charity working to prevent alcohol misuse in Ireland, today announced plans to roll out a public awareness campaign as soon e-scooters are legalised for use on public roads by the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021. The Bill is currently making its way through the Oireachtas, and according to the Government’s recent Sustainable Mobility Strategy*, will be in place by the end of this year. The campaign will aim to encourage the Irish public to adopt a safety-first approach to riding e-bikes and e-scooters, and will complement the draft legislation, which sets out fines of up to €2,000 for the consumption of alcohol while using such vehicles.
Campaign imagery encouraging safe riding will soon be visible in cities and towns across Ireland. In conjunction with this, Bird plans to roll-out its Safe Start feature as soon as it launches services in Ireland. This in-app ‘checkpoint’ is designed to discourage people from riding under the influence and is already used by its riders all over the world. Between the hours of 10pm and 4am, riders attempting to unlock a Bird e-scooter or e-bike will be asked to verify that they can safely handle the vehicle by correctly entering a keyword into the app.
International data attests to the popularity and safety of e-scooters and e-bikes, and continues to show that cars remain the biggest threat to Irish road users, with a documented incident rate of 1 in 20,000 trips. Bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters have a documented incident rate involving medical treatment of less than 1 in 50,000 trips*, but research shows that up to 30% of all cyclist accidents involve alcohol.* Bird and Drinkaware will therefore be campaigning to ensure that the public understands the dangers of using any form of micro-mobility while under the influence of alcohol.
In the meantime, Bird and Drinkaware are urging e-bike riders to avoid riding while under the influence this May Bank Holiday. Any alcohol impairs judgement, making users physically unsteady and impeding their reaction times.
Victoria Springthorpe, Head of Ireland and UK Public Policy at Bird: “Safety is always our no.1 priority and so we’re thrilled to partner with Drinkaware, a leading voice on road safety in Ireland, to educate and prepare people ahead of the legalisation of e-scooters. Sometimes it’s just a case of simply reminding people of the risks, to prevent an unsafe situation.”
Sheena Horgan, CEO of Drinkaware: “Drinkaware welcomes the opportunity to partner with Bird on a campaign that ensures public safety and an understanding of the risks of drink riding. From our interactions with the public we know that there is high demand for information on drink driving, and our webpage on drink driving is consistently in the top 5 pages viewed on drinkaware.ie. New forms of transport are entering our country and we need to ensure that the public are aware of how to use these forms of transport safely and responsibly. The Department of Transport’s draft legislation sets out fines of up to €2,000 for the consumption of alcohol while using e-bikes and e-scooters. As with other policies regarding other modes of transport, the efficacy of the legislation can be boosted by a supportive public education campaign.”
This is the second safety initiative launched by Bird this year, after the company announced a partnership in January with the Irish School of Excellence, Ireland’s largest driver education programme, to establish Ireland’s first E-scooter Safety course. This course is set to be rolled out across Ireland when the Roads Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 becomes law. Covering almost 80% of schools nationally, it will have a wide reach and provide pupils with an overview of the law governing e-scooters; a guide on how to ensure pedestrian safety while using e-scooters; tuition on starting and moving off safely, as well as a tutorial on how to park safely.
The eagerly awaited study “MIND-SHIFT: A Compendium on Future Mobility, Circularity and New Urbanism“ will be presented to the public, the impressive result of six months of in-depth research and analysis of English- and German-language lead media data.
Oliver Heyden, Chief Strategic Officer of pressrelations, talks about the methodology used during research: “We centered our research program FirstSignals ® on the systematic way for early recognition of future trends which opened up our analytic focus to totally new connectivities and developments, making it possible for us to recognize innovative and new dynamic perspectives. To put it in other words: we have concentrated our efforts on what moves mobility in the real sense of the word by looking at what serves as basis for the awareness in English- and German language lead media.”
E-Mobility, Software & In-Car-Tech, Circularity & Sustainability, New Urbanism and Logistics are some of the central issues at the heart of the new study, a preview of the fascinating subject matters and possible solutions awaiting all of us, and an in-depth look at the challenges, the latest developments and opportunities of the future.
Just in the field of mobility and digitization, media coverage increased by a phenomenal 800% in the past year alone with the main focus on digital services in the automotive industry. For 40% of the European customers, and 80% of those from China, the improved range of products in that specific field was reason enough to change their automotive brand.
The inadequate charging infrastructure is still the main discussion point when talking about mobility. Huge electric charging stations with quick-charging points represent old conventional gas station-thinking from the time of combustion engines. That slows down an effective build-up of a network of charging points as they turned out to be too expensive, too complex, and take too much time to install. Small charging points – like parking meters – are needed instead to take advantage of the ever-present availability of electricity. That way the downtime of cars, 85% of their time after all, could be used effectively.
The paradigm of smart cities loses attractiveness, for years the dominant factor in urban research. Urban flight has become a mass phenomenon, and so has become a serious concern for the cities. In its stead, urban concepts are concentrating more and more on quality of life and climate resilience.
Another example is “Shipageddon,” the supply-chain-crisis in the field of logistics. Mark Leonard, one of the world’s leading political scientists, has called it “the Connectivity Wars,” increasing protectionism globally leading to an increase in bilateral trade agreements from 38 in 1994 to 354 today.
“Shipageddon” transformed the entire global logistics industry and causes “Near-Shoring” and “Back-Shoring,” thus creating a new megatrend: circularity.
Dr. Hans Hamer, CEO of SHIFT Mobility, sees a unique approach towards the future in the holistic nature of “MIND-SHIFT: A Compendium on Future Mobility, Circularity and New Urbanism.”
“Inspiration and new ideas are mostly found at the interface where industries overlap and cross-pollinate, and so turn into a kind of a breeding ground for innovation. That is why we are looking at the entirety of the mobility ecosystem in the study, and that is why that interconnectivity is becoming such a seismograph for future developments in mobility.”
On March 30, 2022, Dr. Hans Hamer and Oliver Heyden will present first results to a prestigious group of scientists, politicians and business leaders from the mobility industries at the restaurant “Borchardt” in Berlin.
I dtús báire ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leat a Chathaoirleach agus Baill an Choiste ar son Zipp Mobility as cuireadh a thabhairt dom teacht anseo inniu agus roinnt libh ár dtuairimí ar an mBille um Thrácht ar Bhóithre agus um Bóithre 2021 go háirithe maidir le cúrsaí scútar leictreach.
Our company, Zipp Mobility, is Ireland’s leading shared micromobility provider, and we strongly support the efforts being made to legislate for the use of e-scooters in Ireland. We currently provide shared e-scooter and e-bike solutions to cities and towns across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. We are an Enterprise Ireland client company and have been awarded High Potential Startup status. Since our founding in 2019, we have grown to a team of 25 people and hope to create 50 more high-paying, skilled jobs in Ireland over the next 18 months. At Zipp we believe in “mobility done right”. This means it is our mission to do everything we can to help decarbonize transport, but it must be done in a principled way that respects the needs of the entire community.
Before we discuss electric scooters, I think it would be worth giving context to this conversation by reviewing Ireland’s transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. Transport is the second largest contributor to Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to this, the transport sector has been Ireland’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, with transport emissions doubling in that time. And when you break this down further, it is clear that private car usage is the leading cause of transport emissions, contributing to nearly 50% of total transport emissions in some years and consistently being over twice the size of the next largest emissions category.
Ireland has set the ambitious goal of reducing its emissions by 51% by 2030 and getting to net zero by 2050. This means we need a 7% reduction in emissions per annum for the next 8 years. In 2020, despite Covid restrictions and an economic slowdown our emissions only went down by 3.6%. I believe this illustrates how great of a task we have at hand here. We must achieve twice the reduction brought on by a global pandemic and repeat that year-on-year for eight consecutive years while also trying to grow our economy and fix the housing crisis, among other policy goals.
To achieve this, it is vital that we consider every solution possible, and therefore e-scooters must be a part of the conversation when it comes to decarbonizing transport. We need to make it easier for people to make more sustainable transport choices. This can start with our urban areas where over 60% of our population lives. By giving people safe and sustainable transport options like e-scooters we can achieve these goals. E-scooters could be transformational for reducing our reliance on private cars. If you’re a young person and you can’t afford a car then getting an e-scooter could be a safe, sustainable and affordable alternative. Scooters could also vastly increase the number of people who use public transport. If you’d like to use public transport more but you live too far away from the nearest bus or train link then shared e-scooters could solve that problem because that 30 minute walk becomes an 8 minute scooter journey and suddenly using public transport becomes a lot more attractive. It is also important to remember that shared e-scooters are not just restricted to cities like Cork and Dublin. We operate a shared e-scooter service in the English village of Princes Risborough with a population of less than 10,000 people. This mode can work for suburban and rural communities too.
Other countries’ experience with e-scooters shows that e-scooters can be legislated for in a way that achieves the dual goals of safety and sustainability. There is a balance that is required here. On the one hand you want to reduce the barriers of entry for someone using an e-scooter to maximize modal shift away from less sustainable modes of transport. However, the vehicles must also meet rigorous safety standards and users must obey the rules of the road. As one of the last developed countries in the world to enact e-scooter legislation, we can take this as an opportunity to cherry-pick best practices from other jurisdictions and create a world-class legislative framework for e-scooters that works for everyone.
Shared e-scooter services give cities and towns a great deal of control over how these vehicles interact with the public realm. Local authorities get a say in what types of vehicles are introduced on the streets, how the operators must interact with the community and they can enforce operating restrictions as they see fit. This control gives us the ability to introduce scooters to cities and towns in a community-centric way, in order to build consensus around their introduction. Zipp actively consults with members of the visually impaired and disabled communities and their representative bodies and we are committed to ensuring that when our service rolls out in Ireland, it is one that respects the needs of this community. We will engage groups such as the NCBI, the IWA and the Guide Dogs, pre-launch and post-launch of our service in a way that gives them a meaningful say in the operations of Ireland’s shared e scooter services. We can address their concerns through targeted speed reductions in certain areas, enforcing mandatory parking zones, providing effective safety communications and by taking a tough stance on misuse, among other initiatives.
Chair and members of the committee, I would like to thank you once again for inviting me here today to speak with you. I hope to give you our views on e-scooters as a representative from the shared micromobility industry, but also as a young Irish person, I hope to communicate to you how passionate we are about ensuring Ireland becomes a world leader in climate action. Legislating for e-scooters may seem like a small step but with a task this big ahead of us, it is not about the silver bullet solutions, it will be about the myriad of small steps that we take as a nation, together, in our quest to conquer the greatest problem of our age — climate change.
