Electric scooter sharing launched in Berlin

Bosch and Panasonic are behind Berlin’s Coup electric scooter-sharing scheme.

Berlin residents aged over 21 with a valid car or motorcycle license can now avail of an electric scooter-sharing programme using a smartphone application called Coup, a subsidiary of electronics and auto parts supplier giant Bosch.

The scooters are made by Taiwan company Gogoro, which is backed by international electronics giant Panasonic.

Customers will have the option of paying €3 for 30 minutes on the road or €20 for a full day, with insurance included in the fee.

The battery-powered two-wheeler scooters, which must adhere to a maximum speed limit of 45 km/h, operate in four Berlin districts: Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

After downloading the app and inserting their driver’s license details, customers can locate and pay for the nearest scooter, before retrieving a helmet out of the storage compartment and driving away.

The scooters do not need to be docked at designated stations, rather they can be left anywhere within the four participating neighbourhoods.