The UK Department for Transport has approved Irish start-up, Zipp Mobility’s e-scooter model for use in trials across the UK.
The UK government’s strategy to explore greener transport methods in urban areas has included plans to accelerate trials of rented e-scooter schemes in partnership with firms such as Zipp Mobility.
This is combined with the aim to ease up congestion in city areas in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Zipp’s e-scooter has a lifetime over two years, compared to what the firm says is an estimated industry average of just three months.
It features an aircraft-grade aluminium frame, 10-inch airless tyres, a swappable battery, dual braking, a wide base and a low centre of gravity.
The company said that the scooters are also equipped with nano-septic handlebar wraps that reduce the risk of virus transmission by 99.98%.
The scooters will be reused and recycled for parts once they are ready to be scrapped, and Zipp claims its electric charging fleet and swappable battery is 10 times more efficient than the widely-used gig economy model.
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Founded by 24-year-old Charlie Gleeson in 2019, Zipp Mobility is headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin (UCD).
Since then, the firm has also become an Enterprise Ireland High-Potential Start-Up (HPSU) client company.
Charlie said that the Department for Transport’s approval reaffirms that Zipp’s bid for a more sustainable approach is “one that is being readily welcomed by authorities.”
He added: “Rapid urbanisation is a phenomenon that has aggravated a multitude of problems that city authorities face. However, it presents a fantastic opportunity for innovation, with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic only proving further reason for new approaches needed. At Zipp we want to make sure the transformation to micromobility is a smooth, sustainable and collaborative one.”
Will O’Brien, head of growth and government affairs at Zipp added: “We cannot let people revert back to car usage after years of progress in encouraging alternative modes of transport.
“If cities truly want to advance towards their carbon emissions targets in the post-COVID era, then socially distanced modes of transport like electric scooters must be considered as an integral component of urban transport strategy.”
In June Zipp Mobility closed a €300,000 seed investment round and expanded its team to target the UK e-scooter market.
