Bolt scooters have helped to avoid 2.4 million kg of CO2 emissions

Alina Oprea

23 August, 2023 at 4:15 PM

A study carried out by Bolt shows that the company's scooters have helped to avoid more than 2.4 million kg of carbon dioxide emissions in 17 countries in Europe in 2022. This amount is equivalent to 18.5 million single-use plastic bags or 2,600 round-trip flights from Paris to New York. The European Bolt app has over 150 million users in over 45 countries and over 500 cities across Europe and Africa. Bolt is the market leader in Romania, the company operating in over 25 cities.

"Investments in sustainability are essential for Romania, which is why in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) the funds allocated for the green transition are in the first pillar. Local governments only need to propose and then implement green infrastructure projects, such as bike lanes and scooters, that transform cities into environmentally friendly spaces, and improve traffic and, by extension, the lives of residents. Access to green transport alternatives is a solution from which all parties involved benefit", says Călin Leuștean, Micromobility Manager Bolt Romania.

Bolt electric scooters are used by users 40% of the time to travel short distances, from or to public transport stations, according to a study carried out by the company in 17 European countries, including Romania.

"Our e-scooter rental service helps users move around the city for short distances in a sustainable way that helps decongest traffic, especially at rush hour. According to the World Health Organization, more than 30% of car journeys in Europe cover distances of less than 3 km, and 50% cover less than 5 km. This means that there is a great potential in rethinking the way we move and helps us make decisions that have a positive impact on the community, such as reducing congestion, noise, and pollution in cities," says Călin Leuștean.

The share of use of Bolt scooters in Romania is close to the European average, i.e. 38%.

"The use of rental scooters encourages more people to use public transport, as it gives them the opportunity to have easy access to the bus, metro or tram. Their advantage is that they comply with national legislation and have limited travel speed. In addition, Bolt scooters benefit from two types of insurance and include technologies to prevent situations in which users drive irresponsibly, park irregularly, or ride in tandem on the same scooter," the company says.

Bolt scooters have a maximum travel speed of 25 km/h, which is limited to 15 km/h in certain areas. The company recently announced a number of in-app features to prevent reckless driving and illegal parking. When completing a race, the user's behavior is evaluated according to three components: parking, reckless driving, and tandem driving.

When a scooter is not used properly, as soon as the ride is finished, the user receives a notification to evaluate his behavior, and the penalties range from limiting the maximum travel speed to temporarily suspending the account.

In Romania, Bolt makes constant efforts to educate users through national campaigns, in partnership with local authorities and members of the Police.

"The popularity of electric scooters has grown significantly in recent years, and data published by online retailers also confirms an increasing number of private scooters. Many of these are uninsured, travel at speeds of over 50 km/h, and cannot be controlled. Scooter rental services provide a higher level of safety, functionality management, and technologies that help to use them responsibly. Therefore, imposing restrictions on scooter operators or banning services of this kind, not only deprives a large number of users of using a sustainable means of transport in a crowded city, but can generate inappropriate behaviors in traffic, difficult to monitor", adds the company representative.