Apps, services and sharing: the future's micromobility according to SEAT
In Madrid, a sharing service featuring 530 SEAT eXS kickscooters has started: this is just one of the many micromobility projects of the Spanish brand.
Traffic is increasing, parking spaces are ever fewer and areas with traffic restrictions are expanding day by day. The solution? New models for urban mobility, which also take into account the fact that the younger generation is less interested in purchasing a car than in the past.
This aligns precisely with one of the goals of the Volkswagen Group: to create mobility solutions that meet the needs of young people and big cities. SEAT is the Group’s leading brand on this front and it is has taken up/met the challenge by developing new products and services that are particularly suited to short distances and last-mile travel. One example is the eXS kickscooter, an electric scooter powered by Segway, which has sold more than 5,000 units since December; another one is the Minimó concept car, a 100%-electric vehicle that is able to transport two people and features a range of 100 km and a battery swap system that minimises charging times.
Madrid, the capital of sharing
The eXS kickscooter is the first SEAT product designed specifically for urban micromobility: it is equipped with 8” wheels, front and rear suspension and an electric motor that allows it to reach 25 km/h.
Thanks to the strategic partnership between XMOBA – a SEAT company involved in the development of innovative mobility solutions – and the start-up UFO, 530 kickscooters will be available for sharing in Madrid. XMOBA will analyse significant amounts of data generated by the project carried out in the Spanish capital in order to identify new models of micromobility and to make the service ever-more efficient.
Easy and intuitive
“Kicksharing”, as the service is being called, operates in an easy and intuitive manner. Users can locate the scooter parked near their location using the dedicated app and unlock it by scanning its QR code. Payment is made automatically via the app: the cost of the service is €1 for unlocking and 15 euro cents per minute of use. . Once the journey is over , the eXS kickscooter can be parked in dedicated motorcycle and bicycle spaces, in any car park and even on the pavement, where permitted.
Supporting infrastructure
The partnership with UFO is just the starting point in extending the service into other urban areas, by integrating this practical and innovative transport in the safest and most intelligent way for the citizens.
In order to do that, the support of an adequate, “thinking” infrastructure: SEAT is making its own contribution to this by actively participating in various projects that aim to optimise traffic flows – a good example is the app Mobility Advisor, which will help choose how to move around city traffic each day.
Sustainable mobility
Working on the same goals, Metropolis:Lab Barcelona, a lab dedicated to sustainable mobility and innovation, has already set two services in motion – Ride Sharing and Bus on Demand – which aim to make transport more efficient: the first by allowing users to share their daily commute, the second by making bus routes and timetables flexible.
The Spanish brand aspires to become a benchmark in this urban micromobility by going beyond the product in order to allow those who live in the city to obtain all information on the available options to travel around the city in an economical, sustainable, fun and agile way.
Source: SEAT S.A.