Rail stations are the key to unlocking micromobility

We have written and produced a podcast as to the value of train stations for micromobility. With parcels as passengers along with train stations being mobility hubs.

With Parcels being delivered to the train station rather than into the town using a van. It is then enabled by micromobility to either be picked up by the end recipient, or delivered by cargo bikes.

The Mobility hub of the train station means escooters and ebikes are easily parked up out the way of traffic and literally just the place where people need them for their onward journey into the urban environment.

It squarely allows the micromobility provision to compete with cabs especially in the 3 mile range.

Our 3 mile sweet spot

York city train station has just announced passengers will be offered the option to hop on an escooter or ebike to finish the final leg of their journey.

It has been the travel aggregator ZipAbout, a personalised journey information provider, like city mapper or google maps, to bring its ‘last mile’ journey option to people in York as well as London.

ZipAbout's rail users will now receive alerts and can be directed to TIER micromobility escooters and ebikes for the final stretch of their route.

TIER has effectively added the micromobility service to the mapping tool. Just as we discussed in Micromobility an mapping. Micromobility will be integrated into the wider York and London public transport networks on the ZipAbout app.

with escooters and ebikes appearing alongside other options such as bus, taxi and walking routes.

City of York Council has been involved in a Department for Transport micromobility trial since September 2020 to monitor and collect information about the use of escooters across the city to inform the creation of national guidelines.

The service has been used by more than 25,000 residents, with 6,000 current active users making around 20,000 trips a month.

Georgia Yexley, TIER’s General Manager of UK & Ireland said: “We want to give as many people as possible the choice of environmentally-friendly transport when moving around London and York; this partnership will do just that in offering sustainable last mile travel.

“Even the smallest changes to travel habits can make a significant impact - integrating escooters into journey planning services, alongside our voucher incentive, will encourage the behavioural change we need towards sustainable travel.

"By replacing more short car journeys with TIER’s carbon neutral escooters and ebikes, both London and York will benefit from reduced inner-city congestion and improved air quality, helping to create healthier, greener communities and reach Net Zero goals.”

Alex Froom, ZipAbout’s CEO, said: “We see this partnership as an incredibly important step to getting people back on public transport after the pressures of the last two years. We’re putting real-time journey information at their fingertips which will help them travel with confidence and make the sustainable last mile choice.