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Toronto-based micro-mobility software startup Joyride has received $282,000 in Government of Ontario and industry support to build an electric scooter docking integration system that will make it easier for entrepreneurs to launch their own fleets.
Joyride’s e-scooter docking system is part of a provincial push to embrace electric vehicles.
The initiative was funded by $99,405 from the Ontario Centre for Innovation through the province’s Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) R&D Partnership and $188,809 in industry contributions.
Nearing the close of a year-long development period that began in 2019, Joyride plans to officially release its docking integration system internationally “in the coming months.”
Joyride’s e-scooter docking system, which was developed with financial support from Ontario, represents part of a provincial push to embrace electric vehicles and other alternative forms of transportation.
“Ontario is currently running a five-year e-scooter pilot to give people a new, clean and green way to get where they need to go, and projects like this can help businesses expand and make it easier for people to access e-scooters where they live,” said Caroline Mulroney, Ontario minister of transportation.
Joyride’s docking stations automatically charge vehicles and help simplify asset tracking and maintenance. Founded in 2014, Joyride’s platform serves scooter and bike-share operators. The company provides a white-labelling mobile app and backend that allows operators to rent scooter, bicycle, and e-bike fleets and process payments. Joyride claims to serve over 100 markets across the world.
RELATED: Scooter-share platform Joyride planning global expansion
“As micro-mobility continues to expand across cities, regulators are demanding that operators provide more contained and efficient solutions that will not negatively disrupt streets and sidewalks,” said Vince Cifani, Joyride’s founder and CEO. “By building this integration, Joyride will be the first micro-mobility platform to offer a fully agnostic docking station module for entrepreneurs looking to launch their own fleets.”
“This innovative project with Joyride demonstrates how technology is offering new solutions for people to travel from A to B,” said Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development. “Through the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network, our government is partnering with homegrown small and medium-sized technology firms whose pioneering mobility technologies can be marketed to the world and aid in Ontario’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Micro-mobility is a term used to describe a range of small, lightweight user-driven vehicles that operate at low speeds. In the future, Joyride anticipates that docked and hybrid solutions will account for at least half of the shared micro-mobility market.
