Leading multimobility app, FREE NOW, and Dublin-based Zipp Mobility have just announced that 2022 will see them join forces to offer a fully integrated micromobility service across Ireland.
The new partnership will enable passengers to book Zipp’s escooters and ebikes via the FREE NOW app when Zipp fully rolls out its services in Ireland this year.
Just this week we recommended Zipp as an Irish startup to watch for 2022, and they’ve got the year off to a flying start with this new partnership. The announcement also comes off the back of the new Road Traffic & Roads Bill 2021 in Ireland, which will legalise escooter use in public places as public demand grows for flexible and sustainable transport options.
Micromobility as a sustainable transport option is growing massively in popularity across Europe – with lots of activity in hotspots such as Germany and Italy. Now, Ireland is getting in on the action.
Recent research conducted by FREE NOW shows that 40% of its passengers plan to use escooters like Zipp’s for everyday transport when they are made widely available in Irish cities this year, and three quarters think that Ireland needs more sustainable, electric transport options in line with other European countries.
Charlie Gleeson, Founder and CEO, Zipp Mobility said, “We are thrilled to join the group of operators that are able to offer their micro-mobility services on the FREE NOW platform. At Zipp we understand that micro-mobility is not a ‘silver bullet’ solution to decarbonising transport so we must collaborate with platforms like FREE NOW to give our customers a full spectrum of sustainable transport options. This is the only way we can meaningfully reduce our reliance on the private car and get to net-zero emissions in transport.”
Zipp, headquartered at NovaUCD, has already launched in the UK and mainland Europe and plans to launch both ebikes and escooters across Ireland in 2022, alongside beginning operations in Portugal and Spain. With an ethos of ‘mobility done right’, Zipp, founded in 2019, is certainly looking forward to an exciting year.
FREE NOW’s partnership with Zipp is an extension of its successful European escooter rollout to date, and highlights FREE NOW’s commitment to empowering sustainable urban mobility solutions in Ireland. FREE NOW has been active in the market for nine years now and is moving over 16 million people a year.
Niall Carson, General Manager of FREE NOW Ireland said: “We are delighted to partner with Irish micro-mobility operator Zipp and share common ambitions to change, and ultimately improve, the way people across Ireland approach daily transport. It’s a really exciting time for the industry now that legislation on e-scooters is in motion, and we look forward to having eScooters available on our app in 2022.”
