European scooter operator Bolt has announced plans to spend over €150 million in 2022 to further scale its operations as well as develop solutions to enhance user experience and safety.
As a result, Bolt will expand its fleet to more than 230,000 scooters and e-bikes by the end of this year, across more than 250 cities.
Bolt has seen a 500% increase in rides in March 2022 compared to the same time last year.
The increase in scooter rides is a result of rapid expansion into new cities and countries. Bolt now has scooters in more than 170 European cities across 20 countries, up from around 60 cities in 15 countries a year ago, including extensive expansion in Germany where Bolt scooters are present in 54 cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt.
Bolt 5, the company’s fifth generation electric scooter, is currently being rolled out in cities across Europe.
Dimitri Pivovarov, VP Rentals – Bolt, said: “Our mission is to help build cities for people, not cars, by providing more affordable and environmentally friendly shared mobility alternatives for all city trips. Scooters and e-bikes are a perfect alternative to cars for shorter inner-city trips, so it’s encouraging to see the customer demand for our scooters as we continue to expand across Europe.”
Earlier this year, Bolt reported the findings of its research conducted in partnership with Norway’s Institute of Transport Economics (Transportøkonomisk institutt, TØI) which found that in-app encouragement resulted in up to 60% increase in users across ten European cities shifting from ride-hailing to scooters for shorter trips, highlighting the potential to improve air quality in cities.
