‘Sharing is the new leadership’. You have probably heard it or red it a lot. And now there is a new startup which is bringing sharing to a new level. Urbee will try to solve traffic jam, parking problems and reduce CO2 emissions with a healthy and fun solution; sharing bikes.
In November Urbee will provide 300 e-bikes in Amsterdam. Their ambition is to provide finally 1500 e-bikes in Amsterdam and expand later on to other cities. Their first target market is the business market, since a lot of traffic within Amsterdam come by businesses. Nowadays many people only use the car, since they don’t like to come to sweaty to their work. Urbee thinks by introducing the shared e-bikes many of them will now choose the bike instead of the car. Urbees CEO Fleur Schaven explained: an e-bike is two times as fast as public transport and often also faster than the car especially when you have to look for a parking space, which are quite rare in Amsterdam.
You can reserve the e-bike by the created Urbee application, which is available at IOS and Android. When you reserve a bike, you will get a code to unlock the assigned bike. The system will guarantee a full charged battery and a well maintained bike. The system also includes software to prevent the bikes from stealing. The bikes will cost you €4 per hour and in the night only €1 per hour. You can pick up the bike in one of the several Urbee points within the city.
For me it sounds as a good initiative. The platform will solve many traffic problems and is also good for the environment. They differentiate themselves from their direct concurrent, the ‘Ov fiets’, by provide an electronic bike instead of the regular bike. This will make the solution a lot more attractive for business people.
http://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/e-bikes-als-deelfiets-twee-keer-zo-snel-door-de-stad-als-openbaar-vervoer~a4369649/
https://urbee.nl/http:/
/www.dutchcowboys.nl/technology/urbee-elektrische-deelfiets-in-amsterdam-voor-minder-co2-uitstoot
Hi Lotte, nice article about a new startup. I had not heard about Urbee before. Seems like a very solid idea, and the Netherlands / Amsterdam the perfect place to start in. However, I do see some problems.
1) It seems quite expensive, 4 euros per hour, while OV-Fiets for example is only 3 euros and a bit for an entire day.
2) It mentions being faster than public transport and car, but people will need to travel to the nearest Urbee spot before being able to start their journey. Its succes seem to depend on the supply of e-bikes, and I wonder if 300 of them is enough to start off with. If the first users have to walk quite far to the nearest Urbee, I don’t see them adopting it.
What is your view on this?