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European micromobility provider Dott saw a jump in e-bike and e-scooter users in 2022, new figures have revealed.
Dott, based in the Netherlands, has revealed that the total number of rides on Dott vehicles increased by 94% in 2022, when compared with 2021.
This was supported by a 92% increase in riders over the same period, resulting in 74 million kilometres (45 million miles) worth of journeys.
Henri Moissinac, co-founder and CEO, Dott said: “We are seeing a shift from occasional, leisure use to becoming a regular and everyday solution for travel in our cities. Fuel price rises and increased living costs are leading people to seek affordable and sustainable travel solutions. Our e-bikes and e-scooters provide a cheaper and more environmentally friendly solution than cars, without sacrificing time or efficiency.”
Dott said that the surge in rides may have been driven by the low cost of travel, at a time of dramatically increased fuel prices across Europe.
The average trip distance was 2.2km, 11% more than in 2021, and lasted 11 minutes.
With rising inflation and the cost of living putting people’s finances under pressure, more people are using passes to ensure greater value. 41% of trips now take place using a pass, with usage moving from occasional to regular. The peak time for use was during the morning commute between 8am-10am.
Dott currently operates over 40,000 e-scooters and 10,000 e-bikes in top cities in Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK, including two of the biggest tenders in the world, Paris and London.
Late last year, Dott announced it had begun virtual reality testing of its e-scooter warning sounds, in partnership with the Royal National Institute for Blind people (RNIB), to help improve safety for vulnerable road users.
The brand is now working with the University of Salford and the RNIB to test three potential sounds, by asking participants to wear a virtual reality headset to simulate pedestrians with e-scooters being ridden around them in different scenarios.
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The test group, including blind and partially sighted people, will be asked to identify when they are first aware of the e-scooter, and provide feedback on the suitability and preference of the three sounds.
