The French Riviera company – which has around a hundred employees – set up its headquarters a few years ago on avenue Simone-Veil in Nice (it was created in 2006 in Antibes).
And since its launch, the one that advocates shared transport has continued to grow. For Vulog, carsharing is the key to greener traffic, which both reduces the number of vehicles on the roads but also limits pollution thanks to clean means of transport.
Present in fifty cities around the world, Vulog has just landed in New York with a new partner: Joco. Chairman and CEO of the French Riviera company since 2016, Gregory Ducongé provides an update on Vulog’s news and projects.
You have been established in New York for a few weeks. Tell us about this new partnership.
We have launched an e-bike service with station and this is our first project in the United States. These are not self-service bicycles. There, we offer dedicated stations in private spaces such as building lobbies, shops or hotels. This way, there is no discomfort on the road and it also makes it easier to charge them. This makes canvassing less and less difficult to install the stations. In a building, the bicycle provides an additional service, while in a hotel or a store, it generates additional traffic.
How many bikes have been deployed in New York?
The operator started the service with 300 bikes. By June, there should be 800. Our partner’s ambition is to expand widely, in a few weeks, in several cities in the southern United States, with additional services. He wants to add the electric scooter to the bike. A smoother and more ecological mode of travel.
How do you find your partners?
Our clients come most often through word of mouth. They have heard of Vulog and are asking us. This is how we are building new partnerships with Australia and Chile. In terms of shared mobility, there are few technological solutions on the road. And in order not to take any risks, people choose to call on us. We provide them with our expertise in our business in addition to our technology.
You have also just been rewarded again by the Solar Impulse label [dont le rôle est de promouvoir des solutions ayant un impact positif pour la planète tout en étant économiquement viables]...
We are one of the 1,000 labeled solutions. It is a recognition which adds credit to our action. Carsharing reduces the number of vehicles and the benefits are even more visible if they are clean vehicles.
Where is Vulog today?
We are present on all continents except Africa. This represents about fifty cities in the world. Our platform makes 20 million trips per year and 90% of our fleet is electrified.
Projects?
If the year 2020 was a little complicated, our customers were operational in mobility. And since September 2020: the market is picking up strong. There was even a boost at the start of the year. In particular, we have 10 new projects underway. That of New York, but also in Monaco, in Hamburg in Germany or even in Portland. The second part of the year promises to be just as dynamic with a strong movement towards more responsible mobility.
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