After 7 months of testing, the Cityscoot startup is helping Paris to make the move to self-service electric scooters.
The principle is simple and works according to the same principle as car sharing or self-service bicycles. 150 electric scooters are located across an area of 33 km² in central Paris. The subscriber(s) can then take these scooters to go to work, shopping, or just go for a spin.
No specific terminals or parking spaces
There is however a small difference with other services such as the rental of electric cars since there is no need to park the scooter in a dedicated Cityscoot parking space. In fact, the user can park their scooter in any parking space reserved for two-wheeled vehicles.
This is explained by the fact that the startup is using completely digital technology, meaning that the scooter is geolocated. Booking a scooter couldn’t be much easier as users can simply reserve the scooters via a smartphone app. The scooter is then reserved for 10 minutes, the time for the user to go to the appropriate vehicle and unlock it with a 4-digit code received via SMS. No key, no terminal, nothing!
In terms of charging the scooters, this work will be carried out by Cityscoot teams who are responsible for replacing empty batteries with full ones.
From a safety standpoint, an adjustable headset is provided with every scooter and the startup also offers driving schools for electric scooters, with guided lessons at a speed limited to 45 km/h, led by motorcycle schools. It should also be noted that users will benefit from all-risks insurance.
Full speed service
Even if their scooters are not designed to go at top speeds, the startup itself certainly shows no fear of speed. The project has been supported by the city of Paris from the very beginning and seven months of experimentation with 1000 users and 50 scooters have helped to greatly improve its service.
A fleet of 150 scooters will be launched over an area of 33 km² this week, with Cityscoot hoping to increase that number to 1000 scooters in greater Paris as quickly as possible. Cityscoop anticipate reaching the target of 5000 users in the first month alone.
The rates also seem very reasonable, with the service being user-friendly and easy to access. There is no need for annual subscription, with registration free on the company website, while the billing is calculated per minute.
Prices start at € 0.28 per minute, but regular users can buy 100 minutes for € 25 (€ 0.25 per minute) or 500 minutes for € 100 (€ 0.20 per minute)
The Ile-de-France and BPI have invested heavily in this startup project, founded in 2014. This is juust one of many urban green mobility projects which are currently in the pipeline for Paris.
It is easy to imagine that this principle might be extended to several other cities in the coming years and indeed Cityscoot are already making plans today and in the short term to try and achieve this objective.
