Scooty is the Future of Mobility In Europe’s Congested Heart

Scooty, the Brussels based electric scooter application, has recently tripled their Brussels fleet and introduced their no-emissions scooters in Antwerp. Users download scooty for free from the app store, pay a one time registration fee and a per-minute fee per ride, and can opt to use the service immediately or attend an hour long introduction seminar held once a week at Parc du Cinquantenaire. Scooty is quickly becoming the most affordable and effective way to navigate the traffic in the capital of Europe.

Brussels Express spoke with CEO Bram Vandeperre to discuss the green initiative that has already moved tens of thousands of Brussels residents to get an idea for the future of green mobility in Belgium and the world. Vandeperre, an intrepid young man with experience in every corner of the globe, saw an opportunity in the perennial traffic problem after re-settling in Brussels several years ago. Where policy and infrastructure are failing to provide solutions to issues of mobility and clean air in the city center, electric scooters are succeeding.

Scooty launched amid much anticipation in october of 2016, and after overcoming initial challenges, not least of which a Belgian winter, they drummed up enough user traffic to attract Europcar as a partner. Since the beginning of the summer they’ve been adding bikes to the streets and seeing an enormous rise in usage, from 80-100 rides a day at the beginning of the summer with a fleet that was half its current size.

Vandeperre’s data is also showing that scooty’s customers are getting to their destinations faster and more affordably than with public transit, and with a critical mass of bikes on the streets users are going to the app as a primary option.

The next steps are crystal clear for Scooty, get more bikes on the road, improve user experience, and raise awareness. Further down the line remains to be seen. With Europcar as an institutional partner, and a city with Europe’s worst traffic as a stomping ground one would think that the rise of Scooty is an inevitability but the fact of the matter is that for Scooty to provide a lasting and patch to the mobility disaster that is Belgium much more investment will be needed.

We at Brussels Express tested the app ourselves, and were amazed to see just how many bikes were in our neighborhood.