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Micromobility provider Tier has trialled wheelchair accessible e-scooters in France, in the hopes of a wider rollout to benefit those with reduced mobility.
The German shared transport operator partnered with French start-up Omni to create a solution that pairs wheelchairs to e-scooters through a universal fixing.
Through their partnership, Tier and Omni launched a rental programme for wheelchair accessible electric e-scooters in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, eastern France, helping to provide the 1.4 million wheelchair users in Paris with improved access to urban mobility.
Georgia Yexley, general manager for UK & Ireland said: “Considering accessibility for any mobility service is critical – and micro-mobility is no exception.
“Whilst accessibility must be considered at all stages, it is just as important to create a service which can be iteratively improved and become more accessible over time. Our work with Omni shows how we as an industry can react to ongoing challenges and make micro-mobility usable by all”.
Omni’s wheelchair solution, works with 95% of wheelchairs on the market, and is an affordable alternative to wheelchair power attachments, which can retail for around £4,000.
Tier said its data suggests one in 10 of its riders have a disability. The Berlin-based brand said it is also in the process of developing partnerships with other major French cities Bordeaux and Lyon, is hoping to extend the partnership to markets outside of France, such as London, in the near future.
Earlier this month, Tier also announced that its e-bike rental brand Nextbike has won the tender for Barcelona, which will see 2,600 rental machines rolled out in the city.
Founded in 2004 in Leipzig, Nextbike has been owned by Berlin-based micromobility brand Tier since 2021.
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Jhon Alexander Ramirez Ospina, business developer for Spain at Nextbike by TIER said: “The new AMBici service, created by AMB and operated by TMB, fills that gap by offering a new way for people to travel around the metropolitan area, both conveniently and sustainably. We hope to see similar success to our Bilbaobizi system in Bilbao, where we recorded up to 18 rentals per bike a day.”
