Moscow will be the world's leading rental electric scooter market this year, ahead of Berlin and Seoul. According to Izvestia, this will happen when the mayor's office of the Russian capital issues 60 thousand permits for renting scooters for rent, one and a half times more than in 2022.
Moscow officials discussed intentions to increase the rental scooter quota by the end of 2022, and in the following week there were again reports of plans to issue permits for 60,000 rental scooters. Moscow might be the world's largest city with a fleet of rental scooters, despite the fact that last year Seoul and Berlin were in the lead with around 50,000 people each. However, growth is unlikely in these cities this year.
Progressively, new 20 thousand scooters will be installed on Moscow streets throughout the season, as the number of parking spaces created by kickshare operators together with the city authorities increases. However, there is a high possibility of a shortage of parking spaces, so the presence of quotas is a necessary measure.
Yandex Taxi has endorsed initiatives to enhance urban mobility. "The expansion of cycling infrastructure, which is now being actively looked at by the city, will enhance personal mobility aids," according to a company representative.
The Russian electric scooter rental market grew by 68 percent to 13.3 billion rubles at the end of the year, and the number of trips to them grew by 88 percent to 105 million. By the end of 2022, there were almost 200,000 rental scooters across Russia. This year, it is predicted that this number would rise to 275 thousand and by 2025 – 440 thousand.
Although the fleet of electric scooters is expanding, rental rates have not yet decreased, but they have not increased as a result of the rising costs of the scooters themselves and their spare parts.
The Whoosh service intends to operate in Moscow with a fleet of 15,000 to 20,000 electric scooters in 2023; perhaps the fleet will expand by 5,000 units, according to the official in the city. The park in the city is expanding in proportion to the need of citizens and the ability of the services to maintain devices.
This year, Yurent will develop a new scooter model, which will include turn signals and a touchscreen that will help the user to determine whether or not he has entered a prohibited zone.
