Mechelen has new shared e-scooter platform

Mechelen is introducing a new platform for shared e-scooters. The new Belgian provider, Hopp, will be operational as of next Sunday and immediately offers 70 e-scooters. Citizens have ten minutes to try them out for free.

Shared mobility

An earlier experiment with shared e-scooters was a success: in four months, more than 11 000 people used them. The service was interrupted during the winter, and then came the corona crisis, but now the city has a new e-scooter platform.

“They’re part of the shared mobility of the future, and they’re perfectly useful for the first and last mile,” says Vicky Vanmarcke (Vld-Groen-m+), Alderwoman for Mobility in Mechelen.

Adapted for cobblestones

Hopp has adapted its e-scooters for the use on the cobblestones in the inner city. They’re provided with a better suspension and larger wheels, and they use interchangeable batteries. Users have to download the Hopp app.

They pay one euro to unbolt a vehicle and 20 euro cents per minute ride. An annual subscription costs 150 euros and allows a twenty-minute ride a day. In the free-floating area, users can ride at 25 km/hour, but in the main shopping street, Bruul, and its near surroundings, speed is limited to 15 km/hour.