The number of micromobility rides in the UK has grown 200% in 2022 alone, according to a new report by mobility super app Free Now.
EV vehicles in the app are also up by more than 100% in the UK.
Free Now’s study seeks to highlight the changing urban mobility trends based on the behaviour of its 48 million users.
The company combines the various transport modes all in one app offering the largest vehicle choice for consumers in Europe. This includes public transport services, taxis, private hire vehicles, car sharing, e-scooters, e-bikes and e-mopeds.
“The UK is a key market for Free Now, and one where we are experiencing strong year-on-year growth across our mobility solutions, whether we are speaking about taxi, minicab, e-scooters or e-bikes,” Mariusz Zabrocki, UK General Manager at Free Now, told Zag Daily.
“As such, we will continue to encourage our users to combine the various transport modes we have on our app, and move from an ownership concept to a shared service that can be booked on-demand.”
Overall in Europe, the firm has seen a 221% growth in the number of multi-modal trips (e-scooters, e-bikes, e-mopeds, car-sharing) between 2021 and 2022, while the number of multi-mobility users has increased by 27%.
Broken down by mode, 73% of rides were taken by e-scooter and 27% by e-bike.
The top six cities by number of trips in Europe were Dublin, London, Warsaw, Paris, Barcelona and Berlin respectively.
Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and Bermondsey in London were the top three locations for Free Now micromobility users.
These micromobility trips took riders an average of 13 minutes, supporting the concept of the 15 minute city.
The report identifies four key trends for the year ahead – the concept of the 15 minute city, single app solutions, flexible mobility spending and collaboration for green mobility.
Zabrocki said: “The future of our cities is one of fully integrated and shared urban mobility ecosystems, allowing people to move freely and easily. This will require continuous investment, in for example safer riding infrastructure for e-bikes and e-scooters.”
Free Now surveyed 5,002 people living in cities in the UK, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Poland and Greece. Kantar conducted the representative online survey in November 2022.
Free Now has around 1,200 employees in more than 26 offices and is led by CEO Thomas Zimmermann.
