Taxify will be the first transportation platform to bring scooter sharing and ride-hailing together in one mobile app.
The company is rolling out an electric kick scooter service in Paris this week and will expand the service to more cities in the coming months, although it did not disclose any details around plans for launching the service across its Africa markets.
With the launch of electric scooters in Paris, Taxify is also introducing a new sub-brand for electric two-wheelers, Bolt. The sub-brand will contribute to Taxify’s mission of building the best way to move in cities by creating a tight web of services for every distance, price range or customer need.
Markus Villig, CEO and co-founder of Taxify, says: “Taxify has grown to serve more than 15 million people globally, in big part because we’ve been paying attention to the localisation element of transportation. To solve people’s problems effectively, you need to go down to the city, sometimes even neighbourhood level. When you do that, you really learn a lot about how people move around, so you can figure out ways to make it even easier and faster.
“One in five Taxify rides are less than 3 km, which is the perfect distance to cover with an electric scooter. It’s likely that some of our ride-hailing customers will now opt for scooters for shorter distances, but we’ll also attract a whole new group of customers with different needs. This means we’ll be able to help more people with their daily transportation problems,” Villig adds.
Taxify has already diversified its services in several markets across the African continent, with these shorter ride distances in mind, as it offers its services on motor-bikes (boda-bodas) and tuk-tuks (bajajis) in East Africa.
To use Bolt in Paris, users will need to download the Taxify app, where they will be able to switch between ride-hailing and scooter rental. Bolt scooters come with built-in GPS trackers to provide data on pickup and dropoff locations.
The cost of a ride will be 15 cents a minute, with a minimum fare of one euro (i.e. an average trip of 10 minutes would cost the rider €2.50).
To unlock a scooter, a customer will have to scan a QR-code on the scooter. Upon arrival, riders can park the scooter on the street. The scooters will be collected every evening by Taxify for recharging and maintenance.
Bolt scooters branded in the familiar Taxify green will be distributed across central Paris this week. Taxify is working on launching the service in other cities globally.