SUMMARY
The pilot is set to begin with 300 scooters
To avail the service, riders will have to link Aadhaar or driving licence to Mobycy account
App will inform users about the battery life of the vehicle
Gurugram-based dockless bicycle-sharing application Mobycy has begun the pilot of its custom made escooters Zypp. The scooter which can be used for short commutes can be unlocked via smartphones using QR codes.
Mobycy will be conducting the pilot in Huda City Centre, Gurugram with around 300 scooters. It is planning to have about 5,000 vehicles by March 2019.
Mobycy was founded in 2017 by Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal and is aimed at promoting emobility by offering bike sharing platform. It offers an IoT based GPS lock that shows nearest Mobycy cycles which one can use. Commuters can unlock the cycles by scanning QR code though its app.
According to the startup, now users will be able to locate the nearest escooters and unlock them by scanning the QR code from the app with a charge of $0.14 (INR 10). Further, the app will also inform the commuters about the remaining battery life and runtime of the vehicle.
However, in order to ride a Zypp, users will have to link their Mobycy account with either Aadhaar or driver’s license. The service will cost $0.01 (INR 1) per minute during the travel.
Once the ride is completed, commuters will have to park the Zypp anywhere other than private compounds or gated communities.
“With the launch of escooters, we aim to disrupt the short-mile connectivity. 20% of Indians, which is over 210 Mn people basis census data, get impacted daily when it comes to their last mile or first mile commute, that’s a huge problem to solve,” said Akash Gupta, cofounder of Mobycy.
The startup, which had been recognized under Indian Government’s DIPP-StartUpIndia program, had reportedly raised an undisclosed amount of funding in November from Venture Catalysts. It had also raised a $500K (INR 3.5 Cr) in seed funding round in 2017 from angel investors.
At present, it offers service across three cities, completing over 5,000 rides per day with 2,000 dockless bicycles, ebikes and escooters.
This development came in at a time when Bengaluru-based car-rental startup Zoomcar had announced to temporarily shut down the operations of its cycle-sharing vertical PEDL across the country.
“Smart Bikes with Iot based GPS tracking devices is the next big thing in the town now. Through it, we aim to give our services where unlocking can be done by scanning a digital QR code. Also, after the ride is completed, it can be parked safely,” WheelStreet cofounder Moksha Srivastava told Inc42.
