Free Now, known to many across Europe as a ride-hailing app, is expanding its multimodal booking options, growing its business towards a full mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) model, with its latest partnership meaning users can now book Voi e-scooters in Oxford, UK.
In order to book a Voi e-scooter with the Free Now app, users simply log in and tap the scooter icon on the main screen to find a scooter nearby. All available Voi shared e-scooters can be unlocked by tapping on the chosen scooter on the map. After the ride, the user just selects a parking zone, parks the e-scooter safely and ends the ride in the Free Now app.
Since the launch of Voi’s e-scooter trial in Oxford in February 2021, over 102,000 rides have been taken and over 154,000 miles have been travelled around town on Voi’s carbon neutral service, replacing an estimated 32,000 short car journeys. The success of the trial saw a recent extension of Voi’s service into the city centre. Currently, e-scooters can be used north-south, east-west and through the city centre, including to and from Oxford’s main train station.
“We’re excited to integrate our service in Oxford with the Free Now app,” says Jack Samler, general manager at Voi UK. “The future of mobility lies in multimodality, and micromobility has a strategic role to play in providing people with a sustainable option to complement their daily journeys. This collaboration with FREE NOW is another step forward in making our service even more accessible to everyone.”
“Expanding the range of options available on the Free Noe app for our customers is a strategic priority for us,” says Mariusz Zabrocki, general manager at Free Now UK. “We have the largest fleet of micro-mobility transport solutions like e-scooters through our partnerships with operators like Voi. These will play a key role in helping to reduce transport carbon emissions in the UK, paving the way for us to meet our net zero carbon emission targets and beyond.”
Voi was the first e-scooter sharing provider to integrate with Free Now’s MaaS platform. Besides Oxford, Voi e-scooters can be booked in the app in France, Italy, Spain and Germany.