From today, you will find a thousand new Bolt share scooters in Antwerp. The company's green scooters replace the red Poppy ones, after this company stopped providing share scooters in the northern metropolis. Sensors with AI will alert users when they park the scooter incorrectly, or when 2 people mount, which is forbidden.
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1,000 new green Bolt share scooters in Antwerp: ‘Sensors warn if 2 people mount’
Colin Clapson
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Bolt is offering 1,000 share scooters across the city and its districts. In total, there are now some 3,000 share scooters available in Antwerp, from Bolt and the two other providers, Vio and Lime.
‘The city of Antwerp has strict rules to limit any nuisance caused by share scooters,’ stresses alderman Koen Kennis (N-VA). ‘Bolt also has to comply with these rules. For example, we limit the number of scooters, the number of providers but also the speed of the scooters. In a lot of zones like the Meir, speed is limited to 8 kilometres per hour. In the Central Station, the scooter just stops working.’
Alarm when 2 mount on scooter
‘Our scooters are also much safer than most scooters that people buy in stores,’ says Bolt's Marc Naether. ‘The wheels are bigger. The centre of gravity is at the bottom. We have indicators and a wider board to stand on. In this way, the risk of accidents is lower.’
Bolt also uses sensors and AI to make using the scooters safer. ‘If you park incorrectly, i.e. not in the designated parking spaces, the sensors notice this and you can't complete your ride,’ says Mr Naether.
‘The scooter also notices if there are 2 people on it, which is prohibited. In your app, you get a notification to point that out. That really helps. We do find that people adjust their behaviour as a result'.
Bolt is an Estonian company and already operates in many Belgian cities including Brussels, Ghent, Namur, Liège and Charleroi.