This week's top 3 stories: Turo boosts UK presence with easyCar Club takeover, Lime suspends scooter service in Swiss cities are reported malfunctions, EU funding for e-bike trials.
1. UK car club easyCar shuts down and hands over keys to Turo
UK peer-to-peer car sharing platform easyCar Club has formerly closed following its deal with US rival Turo, which only entered the UK in September. Originally launched as part of easyGroup (best known for budget airline easyJet), easyCar Club stopped taking bookings in December after parting ways with its insurer, Admiral. The terms of the deal between Turo and easyGroup are not entirely clear, but it does not seem to be a traditional acquisition, as users have not been automatically switched from one company to the other. Instead easyCar club's 80,000 users have been offered incentives to sign-up with Turo.
2. Lime suspends scooter service in Zurich and Basel after reports of malfunctions
Lime has temporarily withdrawn all of its electric scooters from the Swiss cities of Zurich and Basel after reports of scooters malfunctioning and causing accidents. Media reports suggested that the scooters front breaks were engaging when the scooter reached their top speed. Lime is investigating. Lime's electric bikes are still available for use in the Swiss cities.
3. Further EU funding for e-bikes trials across Europe
Dutch media have reported that shared electric bike companies Urbee and Cargoroo will receive around €1m of EU funds as part of the continued funding of a study into whether shared e-bikes and shared electric car schemes are commercially viable. The €8.8m project is also funding trial schemes in other Dutch cities as well as in the UK, Germany, France and Belgium. The funding pays for the infrastructure investment required to develop the trial schemes.
This is a weekly note covering the top three developments in the regulation of on-demand transport in Europe. It covers taxis, ride-sharing, car sharing, carpooling, bikes, e-bikes, scooters, shared mopeds and anything else that's relevant to the sector. If you'd like to receive this direct to your inbox then please enter your email address below:
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