Tag: #mobility

Wind Mobility launches in Ireland we check out their e-scooter. #WindMobility #escooters #Mobility

Wind Mobility is a new e-scooter entrance to the Irish market and a welcome addition too and we tested out their #escooter The Wind 3.0 and met up with up Felix Eggert who told us about the plans and the e-scooter itself and one thing to note that stood out to me was it is made in house, down to the last bolt which means stealing one is pointless or stealing a part off one too.

At first this machine is heavier than most and bigger which does make it last and from testing it I like this approach however you are restricted to where you can bring it which again another point to note is that from testing in the UK Felix told me people have tried to bring them on public transport such as trains but this will in fact disable them. They have a very inclusive app and everything can be monitored and geo-fencing is an important feature and zones where they are not supposed to be used are also in place so overall a really good product here with great app features which we will see more in detail in the coming weeks and we get a full long term review of the e-scooter, as mentioned we spent a morning with the Wind 3.0 to check it out and I have made a quick assessment of my time with it..

Who is Wind

Wind Mobility, a micromobility sharing company, and we turn regular travel into safe moments that leave a lasting smile on your face.

They offer convenient, affordable, and easy-to-use access to short distance transportation in urban areas. With their eco-conscious and sustainable e-scooter, they aim to make cities more livable by reducing congestion, as well as noise and carbon emissions.

Born in Germany in 2017 as Byke Mobility GmbH offering bike rental services in European cities, in 2018 Wind launched an e-scooter sharing on a global scope.

 

 

The Wind 3.0

SPEED LIMIT: capped at 25km/h, possibility to automatically reduce speed in the busiest pedestrian areas

WEIGHT: 29.6 kg (higher weight makes for safer and more comfortable riding on bumpy roads)

RANGE: up to 80km range, fully GPS tracked, automatic updates for all major settings, IoT hardwired into mainboard

BRAKES: two independent physical & electric brakes. The braking distance is 3.5 meters in dry weather for a speed of 25km/h vs. 5-7 meters for other scooters on the market. The electronic brake force distribution system allows to automatically balance the load on two wheels in the event of sudden stops, thus limiting the risk of projection towards the front.

TYRES: Non-inflated double-layered foam-filled tyres (No risk of burst tyres; WIND 3.0 tyres are larger than comparable scooters in the industry, which increases comfort and safety)

BATTERY LIFE: 3+ days – fully swappable battery – serviced by electric cargo-bike. The Lithium-ion batteries are certified by the independent German technical inspection body TÜV SUD and comply with international standards

PREVENT CLUTTERED PAVEMENTS Wind scooters are the only shared electric scooters equipped with a robust double stand, which ensures the stability of parked vehicles and prevents them from falling easily and cluttering streets. Sensors in our scooter automatically notify our teams when the scooter has tipped over..

Safety Features

bright yellow colour for easy visibility
retro-reflective devices
bright front & rear lights (automatically
activated day & night)
horn with 110 decibel sound
wider non-slip platform
alarm & anti-theft features
built-in hand sanitiser
integrated helmet

 

 

Playing by the rules

Here is the problem which is still an ongoing issue with escooters in Ireland and they still continue to drag their heels on the laws, mostly the Gardai throw a blind eye which is obvious from the visible amount of these on the streets and as an escooter owner myself I have never been stopped or approached but still feel the threat anytime I do go out on mine. Wind have their own policy set out below but yet like us all still waiting for some kind of solid legislation from our government..

Our geolocation system allows the definition of our operating area and of no-riding zones such as parks or pedestrian areas. The GPS system indicates the position of our vehicles with a maximum margin of error of less than 5 meters. Our teams on the ground ensure that vehicles are not parked in scooter-free zones and will quickly remove scooters from those areas if parked incorrectly. Our app will prevent users from parking scooters and finishing their ride when outside the operating area. If scooters are removed, users will be subject to a fine and WIND reserves the right to suspend a user if scooters are mishandled or repeatedly parked in scooter-free zones. We can quickly adapt and configure our tools to comply with
regulatory demands and flexibly respond to any restrictions imposed by city authorities. Our geofencing technology allows the flexible modification of the area of operation. Within 30 minutes, our teams can integrate no-riding zones and reduced speed areas.

For more on the company see wind.co 

See the video below for a tour of the Wind 3.0

 

 

 

Bird launches shared e-bike and smart bikeshare platform to meet demand for eco-friendly transportation. #Bird #Bikeshare #Micromobility

Bird, a leader in shared environmentally-friendly electric transportation, announced today the addition of shared e-bikes to its fleet of micro-electric vehicles and the launch of Bird Bike. Bird currently operates e-scooters in more than 250 cities globally and will bring its shared bikes and Smart Bikeshare Platform to select cities this year, including cities across Ireland.

The launch of the Bird Bike and Smart Bikeshare Platform comes as Ireland moves towards legislating for shared electric scooter schemes. While the Irish Government is drafting its Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, local Councils are preparing for launch in their areas, once electric scooters have been legalised.

The shared Bird Bike delivers on Bird’s commitment to broadening access to eco-friendly transportation around the world at a time when global demand for bikes and scooters has never been higher. With shared e-bikes, Bird will partner with cities that do not have, or are looking to supplement, an existing bike or scooter-sharing network to offer the highest quality vehicles and operations designed to meet the mobility needs of all riders.

“Shared e-scooters catapulted shared micromobility to the center stage of eco-friendly transportation in cities by providing more than 150 million zero-emission trips globally,” said Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Bird. “We are launching our shared Bird Bike and Smart Bikeshare platform to meet fast-growing demand from cities and riders for more sustainable transportation options while expanding our serviceable addressable market by 5 billion trips per year.”

The Shared Bird Bike

Built with safety and durability as the focal points, the shared Bird Bike is a smart, connected vehicle that complements cities’ existing transportation networks. Each bike is equipped with a high-powered electric motor capable of powering riders up hills with as much as a 20% grade while its 75-pound frame and step through design offers riders of all sizes a sturdy yet maneuverable vehicle for increased safety. Additionally, the shared Bird Bike has a front basket for storage, large pneumatic tires for a smooth ride, and IoT features such as self-automating onboard diagnostics, geospeed technology and multi-mode geolocation to ensure compliant operations in cities and towns of all sizes.

bird bikeshare

Smart Bikeshare Platform Meets Demand for Eco-Friendly Transportation

Bird believes shared e-bikes and e-scooters should complement existing clean transportation and mass transit systems while being available and accessible to everyone. With its Smart Bikeshare platform, Bird can provide communities a robust suite of offerings including the Bird Bike, integrations with locally owned and operated bikeshare services, partnerships with transit apps for comprehensive trip planning, and access to additional eco-friendly transportation options such as e-mopeds provided by third parties.

Collaboration is at the heart of Bird’s operations; Bird is the first scooter operator to integrate with existing local shared bike and e-moped providers and transit apps. In Italy for example, Bird is partnering with Zig Zag, a local company, by integrating their vehicle availability directly in the Bird app to promote shared micromobility use. Bird is also working closely with groups like the North American Bikeshare Association (NABSA) and other transportation organizations around the world to bring these kinds of integrations to additional cities.

“Cities and riders are best served by efficient, collaborative and non-monopolized transportation networks,” said VanderZanden. “Our vision of smart, responsible bike sharing is to provide the best shared bikes and operations when cities need them, and having the foresight to offer the best support and multimodal integrations when they don’t. Cities, people and the planet win when there is greater access to eco-friendly transportation.”

Availability

Bird Bike, Bird’s newest vehicle built for shared use, will be available in select cities throughout North America, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ireland and France this year. Riders will be able to access Bird Bike via the Bird app’s effortless “scan and ride” experience and QR codes on each e-bike.

Cities and others interested in bringing Bird Bike or Bird’s Smart Bikeshare platform to their communities can email hello@bird.co for more information.

 

Bird In Ireland

Bird is eagerly anticipating the passage of the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021, which will legislate for the use of Powered Personal Transport (PPT) vehicles including electric scooters. It is currently engaging with local councils, businesses and other organisations throughout Ireland to help them prepare for the introduction of e-scooters.

Charlotte Bailey, General Manager, UK & Ireland at Bird said: “Bird is delighted to make this really exciting announcement today, especially as Ireland will be one of our priority launch markets. We know how important multi-modality will be to Councils and with this announcement, consumers in their area will have the choice of Bird’s electric scooters, the Bird electric bike and even bikes from the existing operators in their locality, all on the one platform. With this announcement, Bird will now be the most experienced operator in the market, with the broadest offering for Councils and consumers, and we look forward to the journey towards safe and sustainable transport in Ireland.”

FREE NOW and other providers call on the Minister to ensure the proposed legislation for e-scooters receives its full consideration and passage over the coming weeks

A number of e-scooter and e-bike operators, potential operators and mobility platforms, including Ireland’s lead ride hailing app and multi-mobility provider FREE NOW, have today sent a letter to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan calling on him to see that the proposed legislation for e-scooters receives its full consideration and passage over the coming weeks.

The Programme for Government- published last year- included a pledge from the Government to ‘legislate for e-scooters and e-bikes’.  And on February 1 this year, the Government approved the drafting of legislation to allow for their regulation.  One of the main provisions of the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is to legislate for the use of e-scooters, and this will ultimately allow them to be used legally and safely in a public place.

 

 

lime escooter

 

Today, FREE NOW are amongst a group of operators, potential operators and mobility platforms who have written to the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD to see that the Bill receives its full consideration and passage over the coming weeks in order to allow passengers to enjoy the benefits of e-scooters throughout the late summer and early autumn months.

They are asking the Government to “commit to a timeline to implement this important legislation”.  In their letter, which is attached, they also state:  “We believe that it is vital that legislation is prioritised and finalised as soon as possible to allow all relevant processes to take place to ensure we have scooters deployed in the late summer / early autumn months.”

As we all know this has been going on long enough now and nothing has been done so lets see what happens in the near future…

The letter sent..

Dear Minister 

We are writing to you as a group of e-scooter and e-bike operators, potential operators  and mobility platforms. We are all hugely supportive of the work being undertaken by  the Government to legislate for e-scooters as part of the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous)  Bill. 

We were delighted to see that it is contained in the Summer Legislative Programme.  Our ask is to ensure that the Bill receives its full consideration and passage over the  coming weeks in order to allow passengers to enjoy the benefits of e-scooters in the  Summer and Autumn. Multi-modality will be a hugely important element of our re 

opening, ensuring that people have a range of transport options available to them. We  would ask the government to commit to a timeline to implement this important  legislation. 

E-scooters have been found to be a safe and enjoyable transport mode. Many of the  signatories to this letter have experience in other countries and understand the need  to ensure that safety of passengers and other road users must be paramount. We  believe that it is vital that legislation is prioritised and finalised as soon as possible to  allow all relevant processes to take place to ensure we have scooters deployed in the  late summer / early autumn months.  

As the pandemic draws to a close we are keen to continue to support a safe re opening. We are eager to work with government, regulators and other stakeholders to  ensure that scooters are a safe, reliable and enjoyable option for passengers.

Mobility companies say programme commitment to legislate for e-scooters should be urgent priority in new government #escooters

A group of major mobility providers in Ireland have written to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party to welcome the commitment in the Programme for Government to legislate for e-scooters, but have also called for a radical rethink in how Ireland manages transport.

FREE NOW, Lime, Bleeperbike, Zip Mobility and Zeus have said any new incoming government must make legislation for e-scooters and other forms of Powered Personal Transporters (PPT) an immediate priority in the wake of COVID-19.

In an open letter sent to the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party, the providers highlighted the need to radically rethink how Ireland manages transport and the requirement for new forms of micro mobility: “Now, more than ever, we can encourage a shift into alternative forms of transport. Other countries have made the deployment of micro-mobility a key step in supporting their re-opening, it is time for Ireland to do the same. COVID-19 has changed how people will travel and many are seeking alternatives that allow social distancing. E-scooters and other forms of micro-mobility can support this.”

Image by Christian Bueltemann from Pixabay

Alan Fox, General Manager of FREE NOW said: “We have brought together the major mobility providers in Ireland and are calling on any incoming government to prioritise the legislation of e-scooters and other micro mobility as a matter of urgency. While we welcome the commitments made in the new Programme for Government, we urge any incoming government to make this legislation a top priority. Ireland needs to radically rethink how we manage the traditional transport modes such as buses and trains to reduce clustering of commuters at peak times.  Taxi drivers have been working throughout the pandemic to get essential workers to where they need to be. Taxis will continue to offer the potential to transport passengers in an effective, socially-distanced way, but we now see people looking for greater mode diversity and alternatives to public transport as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We need to offer alternative modes of transport that enable people to get around without putting more private cars on the streets, which would ratchet up congestion again and increase harmful carbon emissions. Now is the time for any new government to allow for more choice and encourage people to leave their cars at home and use e-bikes, e-scooters and other forms of micro mobility.”   

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport ran a public consultation on Personal Powered Transporters (PPTs) last year, but no recent progress has been made to introduce new legislation that would permit the use of e-scooters in Ireland. The commitment to legislate for e-scooters was included in the recently-announced Programme for Government.

The mobility providers also said in the letter that: “We believe that we can help people travel responsibly and we will help usher in the return of economic activity. This is a great opportunity for a new government to encourage passengers to get out of private cars and onto bikes, scooters and other forms of micro-mobility.” 

Electric scooters, an efficient and carbon-friendly transport mode that is tailor-made for the new socially-distanced normal, are already an integral part of the transport mix in many European countries like Germany and France that are easing restrictions with measured transport circulation.