US micromobility company Spin has launched its first international market in Cologne, Germany.
From today, local residents and commuters in Cologne can use the Ford Motor Company subsidiary’s e-scooter service from the inner city to the outer parts of Ehrenfeld and Deutz.
Next week, Spin will launch in two additional German cities, Dortmund and Essen.
The company’s pricing structure – €0.30 per minute with no fee to unlock a ride – is designed to lower the barrier to entry for an affordable way to commute short distances or visit multiple destinations within a given time period.
Users can rent a Spin e-scooter using a smartphone app. Upon downloading and opening the app, customers will be presented with a short guided safety tutorial and can find the nearest Spin scooter via its digital map.
According to Spin, it maintains a high standard of compliance with rules set by city governments.
By implementing region-specific firmware and utilising geofencing technology, users will not be able to end their ride in a no-parking zone or exceed the maximum speed limit.
Spin said it is seeking to partner with local governments and organisations in Europe to reduce scooter clutter and solve other commuting needs.
In the USA, Spin has reportedly installed hundreds of charging hubs and collaborated with advocacy and community groups such as Bike Utah and Salt Lake City’s transportation planners to build a temporary protected intersection to help demonstrate publicly how to render streets accessible to bikes, scooters, and pedestrians.
Felix Petersen, head of Spin Europe, said: “Cities must react to the growing demand from their citizens for more individual transportation options and we applaud the work that cities across Europe – Berlin, Paris, London, Milan and Brussels – are doing to rethink the use of streets as shared open spaces to give people adequate space to move.
“Cologne has already taken measures to expand its bike lanes and impose a speed limit, making this a great environment for us to launch our first international market.”
Based on a recent survey conducted by Spin and YouGov, nearly 50% of people indicated that they are currently using or planning to use a solo transportation option for commuting to and from work and for taking trips within their immediate vicinity.
“We are seeing heavier adoption of micromobility all around the world,” said Derrick Ko, CEO and co-founder of Spin.
“Since the emergence of Covid-19, we have facilitated more than 10,000 rides for healthcare professionals, continued to work closely with cities to fill in transportation gaps, and provide our riders with a dependable solo transportation option for their essential trips.
“As lockdown restrictions are lifting worldwide, we are resuming operations in more of our markets and ready to launch our product and service in Germany.”
In response to Covid-19, Spin said it has introduced a series of safety and health measures for its employees to follow during operations such as increasing the frequency of disinfecting its scooters.
Every time a scooter enters the warehouse or is redeployed on the street, the upper mast and handlebars are cleaned with disinfectant.
Furthermore, Spin employees are being provided with personal protective equipment such as single-use face masks, safety glasses and gloves for wear during shifts.
And as a precautionary measure, riders are being encouraged to wear gloves or clean their hands with soap or hand sanitiser before and after each ride and practice physical distancing by staying at least 1.5m away from other people.
Read more from CiTTi
https://www.cittimagazine.co.uk/e-scooter-trials-to-start-in-june/
https://www.cittimagazine.co.uk/germany-introduces-dedicated-micromobility-parking-spaces/
