Helbiz is an NYC-based mobility startup, founded by Italian entrepreneur Salvatore Palella. Helbiz has footprints in major global mobility markets including New York, Washington DC, Seattle, Miami, Belgrade, Rome, and Singapore. The company has its innovative e-scooter service HelbizGO, which is operational in Spain, Portugal, Greece, France, Georgia, and now in Rome. 

Recently Helbiz announced the launch of Italy’s first-ever fleet of e-scooters in the capital city of Rome. Helbiz will launch 1000 fleet of e-scooters and with its existing fleet of 2,500 e-bikes in the city which will seamlessly be integrated into the public transportation system of Rome.

Currently, HelbizGO and HelbizBike will be allowed on the 150km of temporary cycle paths in Rome. However, as per the agreement with the Telepass and Municipality of the city, Helbiz is committed to making the investment in the expansion of micro-mobility solutions in the city and in the latest technological advancements in the industry. 

To access the HelbizGO ride, users only need to pay 1€ for the initial unlocking of the e-scooter + 0.15€/minute for the ride. Helbiz Unlimited allows users to take a 30-minutes ride at a time with HelbizGO e-scooter as well as e-bike at 29.99€/month. To help promote micro-mobility users can use HelbizGo for free for their first 30 minutes through Telepass Pay.

Helbiz experienced an increase in the use of our e-bikes by 300% with average trips lasting 60% longer in Rome during the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, on May 26 the company also raised $4M in the series-B round of funding which makes total funding amount of the company to $31.4M in 5 rounds including the latest round. 

Why start an e-scooter rental business in Italy: 

Negrelli spoke on micro-mobility in Italy at the Bikeconomy Forum, that it is fair to say around the bicycle, an economy that has paved the way for diversified supply chains that extend from industry to infrastructure and tourism, to technology and design, and still, it can be transformed into a multiplier of value not only from an economic point of view but also of the quality of personal and collective life. 

Also from this point of view, electric bikes represent an opportunity that facilitates the approach for everyone. Moreover, the Italian industry can play an important role, as demonstrated by a case of excellence such as Askoll, a historic manufacturer of electric motors for the white appliance industry. Let’s see the key factors that have a large impact on the micro-mobility market of Italy and attract both entrepreneurs and investors. 

➣ Prompt demand:

As per the study by Grand View Research Inc., the European e-scooter market will grow by nearly $41.98B by 2030. 

If we talk about Italy in particular, then the local territories are the first to seize the opportunities of this micro-mobility revolution, the driving force of a bicycle economy which was also a protagonist at the recent Eicma in Milan.

At the center, there is a new trend of an e-bike, the one that adds to the traditional pedaling the electric support is growing rapidly in Italy. Sales of e-scooter/e-bike in Europe are growing at a rate of 25% per year, exceeding 2 million units last year. In Italy alone, sales are increasing at a yearly rate of 20%.

In contrast to different markets, e-scooter advertisements come stacked with interest. When you dispatch your application on the stage and into the world, you will be flabbergasted to perceive how quick its gathering can be since transportation is an essential need. Countless clients use ride-sharing and ride-hailing administrations in Italy, so your application will be a perfect decision for them to need to travel short-separations.

➣ Low competition:

Even though the e-scooter showcase has seen an extraordinary ascent in its interest and development, there are as yet restricted players on the playing field in Italy, making it an outright take of an open door for business visionaries needing to scoop all this rising and constantly developing industry brings to the table.

But prospects with enormous potential are opening up in Italy, as for other means there is some perplexity amongst Italians, but the electronic alternative has a unanimous consensus so much to let imagine a market potential of more than 3 million e-bikes when fully operational.

Statistics show that almost 83% of Italians live less than 30 minutes far from the workplace, only 4% use the two-wheeler to go to work, mainly because of the poor interconnection of the infrastructures and integrated transportation. That leaves many doors open for micro-mobility to grab the market. 

➣ Ocean of investors at the doorstep:

The Italian government is encouraging e-ride hailing businesses in the market and commuters to go for electric alternatives by reducing their carbon taxes. In Cesena, those who go to work by bicycle are rewarded: 25 cents per kilometer for a maximum of 50 euros per month, complete with an app that verifies the route. In Collegno, a network of cycle paths will shortly connect the territory with the metropolitan area of ​​Turin, taking advantage of the opportunity of a population that 80% live less than two kilometers from a metro station. 

Casole D’Elsa has created a real hub for cyclists, with a network of accommodation facilities. But even Rome plays sustainable with a project that allows you to get to the Olimpico without the use of private means.

Recently the Italian government announced a subsidy of 500 euros to setup the e-mobility business in the country. So the investors are more than ready to invest in the Italian micro-mobility market, but they are only waiting for an exceptional idea to invest in. 

➣ Openings in business models:

With just a little division of the competitors present in the market, it is easy for the experienced technical team and business visionaries to imagine, explore, and enhance with your application thought by ingraining outstanding highlights into your application. 

For instance, rather than only giving pick and drop office of e-scooter using your application, Beacons can be incorporated to tell clients of limits in explicit territories.

Features to consider while developing an app like Helbiz:

➣ Search nearby e-scooters:

As it is the first point of contact between the users and the app, users should be able to quickly check for the nearby e-scooters, and the experience must be smooth and effective.

➣ Smart lock and unlock:

When, an e-scooter user book, it should be quite easy to unlock the e-scooter using the QR code scan feature in the e-scooter app, and the same should be the case with e-scooters locking system. This security provision enhances the trust of the users in your app and ultimately in your company. 

➣ Smooth and secure payments:

Nevertheless, for safe online transactions, the payment gateways you integrate into your app should be accurate, effective, and open enough, you can also partner with all the well-known payment gateways to attract consumer interest, or you can provide in-app wallet to make payments.

➣ Push notifications:

You can use push notification to keep your users updated about the latest features or deals, etc. 

➣ Multi-lingual support: 

To attract a wider userbase. 

➣ Cost For developing an e-scooter app like Helbiz: 

The cost for developing an on-demand e-scooter rental application depends on various factors such as prototype used, the technology used, the time is taken for development, the number of features integrated, app design, etc. If we think of the basic traits of the e-scooter application then, the development cost may somewhere between USD 18k to 22k. But if you want to know the personalized quotation for your unique idea then contact our experts now for free.

How can Coruscate help you?

Now, you get an idea about how to develop an on-demand e-scooter application and how much the cost requires, the important step is to choose the best application developing company. Coruscate is the leading e-scooter app developing company and have served many successful e-scooter projects around the world. So having a tremendous experience and hard-working team Coruscate can give you the best solution with advanced features.