FREENOW partners with MOBY to offer in-app bookings for pedal and e-bikes in Dublin
FREENOW, Ireland’s number 1 taxi app, has partnered with Irish bike sharing provider MOBY to make its 500+ pedal and e-bike fleet available on the FREENOW app. MOBY and FREENOW co-branded bikes will be available to book in Dublin via the FREENOW app alongside taxis from today.
The new partnership with MOBY is part of FREENOW’s ongoing commitment to enhance urban transportation choices by offering a range of sustainable and efficient transport options to passengers in Ireland. It will allow FREENOW users to adopt a more flexible approach to daily transport and choose from different transport options when travelling for work or leisure, easily combining taxis and bikes with existing public transport. This mirrors the multi-modal progress made by FREENOW in other markets, such as the UK, France, Spain or Germany, where passengers are combining a variety of transport options to get about the city – from e-scooters, e-bikes, e-mopeds, and taxis to car sharing, all available via the FREENOW app.
FREENOW’s growing multi-mobility offering also contributes to its sustainability efforts, as the company takes measurable sustainability efforts to become a net-zero platform. This is clear from insights drawn from other European countries, where a variety of mobility options are already seamlessly integrated into the FREENOW app. With over 200K e-scooters and e-bikes vehicles available across Europe, during 2023 alone, electric shared vehicles on the FREENOW platform saved 2,067 tons of CO2, highlighting the positive impact of multi-modal transport.
MOBY operates public bike share schemes in Dublin, Athlone, Mullingar, Ashbourne and Tullamore and corporate bike share schemes for Dublin Airport, Eastpoint Business Park and Sport Ireland, as well as a growing international business. Currently, it has over 500 bikes available throughout Dublin city, and plans are underway to extend this number to 1,500. To unlock a bike, users pay a €1 fee; the first three minutes are then free, and after that period, it costs €0.15 per minute for an e-bike and €0.02 for a manual bike. Users can locate and book the e-bikes through the FREENOW app under the new ‘2-wheels’ option and use them within the designated operating area visible on the map in the app in Dublin.
Commenting on the launch, Charlie Gleeson, General Manager of FREENOW Ireland, said: “We are delighted to partner with MOBY to integrate a new bike service to the FREENOW app, making it easier for passengers to consider efficient and sustainable transport options.
The Irish government's ambitious target to reduce carbon emissions by 50% in the transport sector by 2030 sets a clear focus for the sector before the turn of the decade. At FREENOW, we are committed to supporting the taxi industry's progression towards these targets by continuing to onboard more EV drivers and expand our green (EV) taxi fleet alongside increased micro-mobility solutions, such as the MOBY integration.
This announcement is also timely given the recent micromobility regulations introduced under the Road Traffic and Road Act 2023. The new legislation will positively contribute to the integration of both e-bikes and e-scooters on Irish roads and support the safer use of micromobility moving forward. This partnership with MOBY forms part of our wider plans to integrate additional mobility options into the FREENOW app, offering more choice to passengers in Ireland in the coming months in line with this new legislation.
We will continue to drive change by ensuring passengers can have easy access to more and increasingly sustainable transport options that residents or visitors can conveniently use and combine with existing public transport options to move fast and safely from A to B in Dublin and beyond.”
Also commenting on the launch, Akash Kajal, Operations Manager of MOBY said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with FREENOW to enhance mobility choices for Dublin transport users, making it even easier to rent and ride a bike for more people. By integrating seamless MOBY bike rentals directly into the FREENOW app and leveraging Dublin City Council's commendable efforts in expanding bike lanes citywide, we truly believe that multi-modal transportation can empower consumers with more efficient, sustainable, and healthier travel options throughout Dublin.”
Research* conducted by the National Transport Authority (NTA) in its ‘Walking and Cycling Index’ reveals the growing demand for sustainable transport options in Ireland. According to the NTA findings, 1 in 4 adults in Ireland currently cycle at least once a week, and 39% expressed a desire to cycle more. Every day, those who walk and cycle take nearly 530,000 private cars off the road in the Dublin Metropolitan Area.
ENDS
About FREENOW
FREENOW is the Mobility Super App with the largest vehicle choice for consumers across Europe available in 9 markets and in over 150 cities. Users can access all types of mobility services within a single app including public transport services, taxis, private hire vehicles, car sharing, e-scooters, e-bikes and e-mopeds. FREENOW aggregates numerous mobility brands with the ambition to make urban mobility more efficient and sustainable without adding new vehicles on the street. The German based company is backed by the BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Mobility.
* NTA publishes survey of walking, wheeling & cycling in Dublin Metropolitan Area - National Transport
Visit our Website for further information and download the FREENOW app for iOS or Android.
About MOBY:
MOBY operates public bike share schemes in partnership with local councils across Ireland as well as corporate bike share schemes for large companies. Growing profitably as startup in Dublin from early 2020, it now has a fast growing international business based out of the Netherlands providing “e-bikes as a service” with customers in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Croatia, France and the USA that include JustEat, Dominos Pizza, the Dutch Police and the European Parliament, where they supply, locally manage and maintain large fleets of bikes, e-bikes and e-cargo bikes.