TIER Mobility pilots wheelchair-accessible e-scooters ahead of wider roll-out in the UK
Micro-mobility provider TIER Mobility has piloted wheelchair accessible e-scooters in France ahead of possible wider roll-out in the UK to provide greater freedom and autonomy to those with reduced mobility.
TIER has partnered with Omni, a French start-up that won the innovation competition, Concours Lépine, in 2021, has created a solution that allows, through a universal fixing, a wheelchair to attach to an e-scooter.
Through their partnership, TIER and Omni have launched a rental programme for wheelchair accessible electric e-scooters in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in France, helping to provide the 1.4 million wheelchair users in Paris with improved access to urban mobility.
Connecting to 95 per cent of wheelchairs on the market, the technology enables wheelchair users to utilise powered mobility at a much lower fee than a wheelchair power attachment – which costs approximately £4,000.
With exclusive new data from TIER showing that one in 10 of their riders identify as having a disability, TIER, which is also in the process of developing partnerships with other major French cities Bordeaux and Lyon, is hoping to extend the partnership to markets outside of France, such as London, in the near future.
Georgia Yexley, General Manager for UK & Ireland said: “Considering accessibility for any mobility service is critical – and micro-mobility is no exception.
“Whilst accessibility must be considered at all stages, it is just as important to create a service which can be iteratively improved and become more accessible over time. Our work with Omni shows how we as an industry can react to ongoing challenges and make micro-mobility usable by all”.
TIER Mobility provides micro-mobility, transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service scheme in which people hire vehicles for short-term use, within towns and cities.
The company’s mission is to change mobility for good by providing people with its e-scooter, e-bike and pedal bike services, the company enables cities to create more sustainable environments and move towards a zero-emission future.
Following the recent acquisitions of nextbike and Spin, TIER is now present in over 560 cities and communities across 33 countries with a fleet of more than 350,000 vehicles. TIER focuses on providing the safest, most equitable and most sustainable mobility solution and has been climate neutral since 2020.
