By announcing, on June 15, the entry into force from 2022 of paid parking for two-wheelers with thermal engines, the City of Paris has provided a significant boost to the rental of electric scooters in the capital. An activity that attracts a growing number of operators. In a few weeks, Cityscoot, the only one in contention since the withdrawal, in 2019, of Coup, has seen the emergence of three new competitors determined to find their place in the Parisian market.
Since April, the American company Lime has broadened its offer of electric bikes and scooters by introducing its first scooters, of which a thousand units are expected to circulate at the end of the summer. The French start-up Yego, present in Bordeaux and in three Spanish cities, has also started to make its pastel green electric vehicles with a vintage look available. It is targeting a fleet of roughly comparable size. Founded by three French entrepreneurs in Barcelona, which is considered the European capital of the self-service scooter, Yego has raised 14 million euros to finance its development.
Reassure customers
The last to land in Paris, the operator Cooltra is the European leader in short-term rental of two-wheelers in urban areas. The company, founded in Catalonia, has 16,000 electric scooters available in six countries (Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic and France since June 28) and in around twenty cities including Barcelona, Madrid, Milan and Rome, with a market share ranging from 50% to 100%. By September, 2,000 of its scooters will be offered to users in the capital.
“Paris represents the largest market in Europe in terms of the number of trips, and we are going to highlight our experience and our quality of service with the objective of ultimately conquering 30% of the market”, assures Timo Buetefisch, founder of Cooltra, which has just carried out a capital increase of 20 million euros, including 9 million intended to finance its establishment in the City of Light.
The arrival of new speakers made it possible to introduce certain improvements, such as the absence of a code to dial on the scooter or the generalization of the presence of two helmets.
Cooltra, who postponed his arrival by several months due to the travel constraints imposed by the health situation, relies on its Italian large-wheeled scooters to reassure a clientele largely made up of two-wheeler neophytes, former automobile enthusiasts or ex-users of public transport. Depending on the success of its services in the coming months, the company plans to increase its fleet and expand its radius of action beyond intramural Paris or even to other large French agglomerations.
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