Zipp Mobility, the Irish e-scooter mobility start-up based in NovaUCD has announced that over 1,000 journeys have already been made on their scooters in the company’s first full week of operation in Taunton, Somerset.
Zipp mobility has a 12-month trial in Taunton with the Somerset West and Taunton (SWT) Council. The company will be looking to continue their early success after strong figures in the first week.
In its first week, there have been a total of 607 users who completed the 1,019 rides, 2,727 miles have been travelled on the scooter by users. The total time spent on scooters was 577 hours 44 minutes.
The trial in Taunton is geofenced, which means the e-scooters will only work inside permitted areas. The maximum speed limited for this trial has been limited to 13.5 mph, and there are slower zones within the trial area.
Charlie Gleeson, CEO of Zipp Mobility and UCD graduate said, “We are over the moon with the ridership levels we have seen in Taunton so far. They prove to us how beneficial a shared e-scooter scheme is to the local community and we are excited and optimistic to see how this trial turns out over the next 12 months. We are always looking to continuously improve our operations at Zipp so I am confident it will go from strength to strength.”
Cllr Peter Pilkington, Executive Member for Climate, SWT Council said, “I am delighted that the Department for Transport has confirmed that trials can continue through this period of national restrictions. E-scooters are the perfect way to travel for those who need to access work and essential services or supplies at this difficult time.”
He added, “I am really encouraged by the success of this scheme so far and would like to thank everyone who has used a scooter to date and returned them neatly to a designated parking bay.”
The NovaUCD firm is also putting sustainability to the forefront of its business model. The Zipp Mobility e-scooter has a useful lifetime of over two years, compared to the estimated industry average of just three months, which is brought about through rigorous maintenance. They also commit to green operations through their ‘end-of-life’ plan by recycling and re-using all parts when scooters do fall beyond repair. In addition, Zipp’s all-electric charging fleet and use of swappable batteries make them 10 times more energy-efficient than the rest of the competition.
Kevin Kyne – Business Reporter
