Berlin is considered a pioneer in micro-mobility throughout Germany. In addition to companies from the USA and Sweden, several German providers of e-scooters are represented in Berlin. More than 9,000 electric scooters buzzing around the streets of Berlin - this of course was before the pandemic. But now once again with perseverance of the scooter providers we are starting to see more and more return.
The corona pandemic hit the e-scooter market in what was thought to be its most important and decisive. The winter was hardly over when the rapid spread of the corona virus and the associated lockdown caused a real collapse in the scooter industry. Little by little, the providers withdrew from the major German cities. In the end, for example, TIER was the only provider left in the capital. This stayed with the help of short-time work and its HEROES program, in which all rescue workers, police officers, supermarket employees, doctors and nurses were allowed to use the Berlin company's e-scooters free of charge during the peak of the corona pandemic in March and April. And the effort seems to have paid off! For fear of possible contamination in public transport, more and more Berliners resorted to micro-mobility and drove to work with e-bikes, pedelecs and e-scooters.
Advantages of e-bikes, e-scooters
The term micromobility encompasses all electrically powered micro and light vehicles that can drive a maximum of 25 km / h. These include e-bikes and pedelecs, as well as electric scooters and some four-wheeled micro vehicles. Little by little, they are all returning to our streets and - as expected - they are enjoying ever greater popularity. The great advantage of micromobile electric vehicles is their individual use. Parking spaces are in short supply almost everywhere where many people live and work. In addition, many do not want to pollute the environment more than necessary. And this is exactly where e-scooters, e-bikes and pedelecs come into play. They enable short distances to be covered with little effort and at the same time environmentally friendly. Bicycles and scooters wait for their spontaneous use at countless stations, which works perfectly with the help of an app. With a sophisticated logistics network, the providers ensure that their vehicles are collected and charged overnight so that they can be used again the next day.
Bird, Lime, Voi and TIER are back in Berlin
Electric scooters from rental companies such as Bird, Voi, Lime and TIER have been available in Berlin since mid-June. After the big lockdown, the scooter providers from Germany, the USA and Sweden are now trying to gain a foothold again - apparently with success. Not in Berlin, but also in cities like Paris or Munich, the providers are noticing a significant increase in user numbers. The American rental company Lime has already brought almost all of its 25,000 e-scooters back onto the streets. And the Berlin start-up company Tier Mobility is also in the process of repositioning its almost 40,000 scooters worldwide. In addition, since the takeover of the insolvent company Coup, also from Berlin, Tier Mobility has had a fleet of 5,000 e-mopeds. When it comes to micro and electromobility, TIER is definitely one of the pioneers on the German market.
Corona crisis caused a rethink in the scooter market
In order for users to trust e-scooters in the middle of the Corona crisis, the providers had to come up with a hygiene concept. The electric scooters are carefully disinfected after they have been collected and charged at night in order to keep the risk of infection for the next user as low as possible. But COVID-19 not only caused a rethink on the part of the rental company: many users now also prefer the simple way of getting around using micromobility. On the one hand, they are not in close proximity to other people and can easily maintain the minimum distance. On the other hand, many only became aware of the possibilities of electromobility through the crisis.
Micromobility as corporate benefits - is that possible?
Many companies offer their employees special offers that go beyond the monthly wages. The employee offers, known as corporate benefits, include discounts for meals or local public transport as well as in areas such as company cars and the approval of a mobility budget. With the latter, the employer grants its employees a certain budget per month, which they can use up in the form of mobility offers. In addition to the use of public transport, this also includes e-scooters, e-bikes, pedelecs and e-cars. And with a suitable electromobility subscription from us, employees can easily switch between the individual vehicles every day. We would be happy to advise you on the options for such an electric subscription.
