Singapore-headquartered Neuron Mobility, an e-scooter operator in Australia and New Zealand, has launched its safety-first e-scooters in Seoul.
 |
| Source: Neuron Mobility. Neuron Mobility is launching e-scooters in Seoul, Korea. |
The decision to enter Korea was made after the government recently introduced tighter rules to what was previously a largely-unregulated market, and also to respond to the authorities’ increasing focus on e-scooter safety. According to Neuron Mobility, micromobility is booming in many Korean cities.
Neuron will be launching their Korean-spec e-scooter which is fitted with the world’s first app-controlled helmet lock. This electronically secures a safety helmet to every e-scooter, releasing it at the start of the trip so they are available to all riders. This will be an important differentiator in Korean market where recently-updated laws require all riders to wear a helmet.
Zachary Wang, CEO of Neuron Mobility said: “We’re delighted to launch in Seoul, we’ve been studying the rise in popularity of e-scooters in Korea for some time. Now that new regulations are being introduced, as well as an increased focus on safety, we think it’s the perfect time to bring our safely-leading e-scooters, and collaborative ways of working to the city.”
He continued: “Wherever we operate in the world we welcome good regulations and we have a major focus on safety. We are already talking to the authorities in Seoul and have demonstrated our helmet lock and other safety features. We look forward to adapting to meet their needs as well as those of Seoul’s safety-conscious riders.”
Neuron’s industry-leading e-scooters are built specifically for renting and rider safety. The company was the first to implement a full suite of geofencing, allowing the authorities to better control where and how fast e-scooters can be ridden. Neuron’s e-scooters were also the first to feature interchangeable batteries for greener operations. They were the first to integrate voice guidance to educate users to ride safely. Neuron also launched the world’s first app-controlled helmet lock, which secures a safety helmet to the e-scooters between trips for the benefit of safety-conscious riders.
Neuron has introduced a range of other innovations including a topple detection feature that can detect if an e-scooter has been left on its side which then alerts an operations team to reposition it safely; an emergency button which can tell if someone has had a fall and helps the rider call the emergency services; and, a Follow my Ride feature allows the rider’s friends and family to track an e-scooter trip in real time for added safety and peace of mind.
Neuron riders are required to be at least 18 years old, with a valid driver’s licence. On 12 January 2021 new, tightened, regulations were also promulgated in Korea to enforce laws that require all e-scooter riders to wear safety helmets.
The company will initially deploy 2,000 Korean-spec e-scooters to test and refine operations before scaling significantly later in the year.
Over the last six months Neuron has won new contracts to operate in Canberra, Townsville and Dunedin in Australia and New Zealand.
