E-scooter operator outlines Cork plans
An emobility company which hopes to rent e-scooters to people in Cork wants to partner with local businesses, boosting those businesses to the tune of nearly €550k annually.
Tier is Europe’s largest e-scooter operator and operates in over 90 cities across Europe and the Middle East, including Paris, Berlin, York and Dubai.
It wants to launch a Cork service following the Irish Government’s announcement that it will introduce a new vehicle category to legalise the use of e-scooters on roads. Tier said it will also give away €45,000 worth of free trips a year as part of its unique battery-swapping innovation.
If successful in launching in Cork, Tier will deploy its fleet of e-scooters and e-bikes in the city, all of which will be equipped with Tier’s rider-swappable batteries. This model allows people to earn a free trip every time they exchange a vehicle’s battery with a fully charged one.
To facilitate this technology, the company will partner with local businesses, such as shops and cafes, to house compact charging pods - known as ‘powerboxes’ - where e-vehicle riders can make the swap.
These can be targeted at neighbourhoods with higher car use to encourage people to switch to more sustainable modes of transport, as well as at more deprived areas to extend free travel to those who may need it most.
This model has already been successfully piloted in Finland and is now being rolled out across ten German cities over the next few weeks.
People who visit the charging stations to swap batteries spend an average of €3.10 on goods while at the location. Over a year, this amounts to over €18,000 in additional revenue for a participating business. With Tier planning to install 30 charging pods in Cork, if they become a rental operator in the city, the upside for businesses could be €544,000 over 12 months.
Fred Jones, Northern Europe General Manager of Tier, said: “Our e-scooters are already having a hugely positive impact on cities when it comes to reducing congestion and pollution, and helping people to move around in a Covid-safe way.
“We’ve seen the tangible benefits that our charging network can offer retail business and restaurants and we would love to be able to replicate this in Cork, supporting the high street as it begins to reopen and recover from the pandemic.”
Placed inside convenience stores, cafés and other partner locations, the charging stations are compact, fully-automated and require no store staff oversight and no installation. It is free of charge for partners, with Tier also paying for all electricity costs. If Tier operates in Cork, it will be actively seeking partners to host the network. Those interested are encouraged to register their details at tier.app/swapspot/.