Rentable scooter network launched in Budapest

Online business magazine Forbes reports that Budapest is about to see its first public scooter network, blinkee.city. A Polish company operates the electric scooters and Hungary is their first foreign partner.

The Polish company, Blinkee.city, has teamed up with E.ON Hungary in the efforts of promoting sustainable and cheap public transport by starting a scooter sharing network. The founder of E.ON, Tamás Varsányi, told a press conference on Thursday that the team’s goal in the future is to expand outside Budapest, in other major Hungarian cities. However, this is not included in their plans for 2018, as they wish first to wait for the users’ responses. Already 2000 people have registered in the Blinkee.city app, despite the lack of big advertisements.

How does it work?

Blinkee.city is keeping up with the trend: the scooters come with a mobile app with which they can be unlocked, as there are no keys used. Once you download the app and register, you can search for the scooter that is the nearest to you. If you think that you can get there in 15 minutes, you can even reserve the chosen vehicle.

What is appealing about blinkee.city is that you do not have to upload the fare in advance, you only have to pay once you are done with your journey.

A minute costs 45 forints (EUR 0.14), but there is a student discount for 41 forints (EUR 0.12). Parking costs 6 forints per minute,

which is much cheaper than the price with which the current public car-sharing systems operate.

The scooters can be used only for drivers above the age of 16, in possession of an AM category drivers licence for at least half a year. Helmets are a must, which you will find in the boot.

This is the area where you can use them photo: https://blinkee.city

The main difference between the service and, for example, the Mol Bubi bikes is that you do not have to return the scooters to a docking point, you can leave them wherever it is feasible for you.

Button

The operators keep an eye on the battery percentage, and they change the batteries once the users discard the scooters. The whole changing process takes only a minute, and the scooter is back on track, waiting for its next rider.

About the scooters

The scooters operated by Blinkee.city are relay bikes, equipped with a 3.1 kW engine power and 35 Ah batteries, which last for 60 kilometres. Electricity is supplied by E.ON, which has been supporting such initiatives for a long time now, as to make electric vehicles more popular.

Forbes argues that since the scooters are completely electric, they do not contribute to the city’s noise- and air pollution. On top of this, public transport becomes much more cost-effective with (hopefully) fewer traffic jams.

featured image: https://www.facebook.com/Blinkeee

Source: forbes.hu