French rail company SNCF has added the ability to find and book
self-service electric scooters and bikes to its SNCF Assistant app in five cities: Paris,
Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble and Bordeaux.
Users of the app – which has been downloaded more than 16
million times - will now be able to book scooters from operators Blablaride, Dott,
Lime, Pony, Tier and Wind and bikes from Pony, Zoov and Jump via Lime using a
map or by searching on their itinerary. The app shows the locations of the scooters
and bikes in real time. If the user already has an account with the operator,
they are instantly transferred to the unlock page.
SNCF has worked with start-up Fluctuo to add the functionality
to the app.
“With the integration of these new scooter and self-service
bikes we have reached an important stage in the development of our Assistant
SNCF app as the reference point for daily mobility,” said Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF
Voyageurs.
A tie-up with another start-up, Airweb, will also allow passengers
to get e-tickets for rail, underground and bus journeys in many small and
medium-sized towns through the app from the end of November. It is already
possible to get contactless tickets in the Ile de France and Strasbourg using the
app.
Fanichet added, “Today, 23 per cent of journeys by scooter
are combined with public transport or on foot, mainly for journeys between home
and work. Thanks to our collaboration with Fluctuo and Airweb, we have enriched
the Assistant SNCF app and can offer new functionality which meets the needs of
French people to travel safely and easily with a large choice of modes of
transport."
“This new offering complements those of train, bus, taxi,
underground and car-sharing with ‘soft mobility’ which has become increasingly popular
at this time of health crisis,” added Julien Nicolas, CEO of e.Voyageurs SNCF.
Assistant SNCF was launched in June 2019 and offers long-distance
SNCF tickets including TGV, taxi and chauffeur drive services with Uber and
Karhoo in more than 90 French cities and towns, car sharing with BlaBlaLines and
Karos as well the ability to buy bus and underground tickets.