SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Bird, the leader in shared electric scooter transportation, is teaming with Israeli navigation startup Trailze to pilot Bird Maps, an app that provides turn-by-turn specialized navigation for scooter riders who want to ride in bike or micromobility lanes for the duration of their trip. The pilot will kick off in Paris, France and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Bird Maps is a free standalone app, available soon on iOS and Android, that will allow riders the opportunity to enter their destination information and in turn provides audio and visual turn-by-turn navigation that optimizes for the use of bike lanes, quiet roads and wider surface areas when possible. For the first time, there’s a solution that centers on micromobility riders and considers routes optimized for use of bike lanes. This is an enhancement in the rider’s experience designed to increase comfort and safety while optimizing usage of bike lanes and is the latest in a number of industry leading safety initiatives from Bird following Helmet Selfie, safety (s.h.a.r.e. Safe Streets) events, and Warm up mode.
For the last century, our cities have been designed around cars, which can make them intimidating for some scooter riders. Trailze is remapping the urban grid with micromobility in mind, mapping safe routes based on where riders can actually enjoy riding. During COVID-19 lockdowns around the world, over 300 cities have introduced plans for more than 2600 additional miles of slow streets and temporary bike lanes.
“With millions of people embracing shared electric micromobility and cities everywhere committing more resources to the development of bike and micromobility lanes, we wanted to ensure that riders could more easily navigate and utilize city infrastructure,” said Patrick Studener, Head of Bird EMEA. “By working with Trailze to pilot Bird Maps in Paris and Tel Aviv – two cities that have recently committed to and developed additional bike lanes – we are making it easier for riders to feel more comfortable and safe as they move about their cities without relying upon cars and hope to pave the way for increased adoption and usage of clean transportation.”
“Our vision at Trailze is to make riding human-scale vehicles the easiest and safest option for all,” said Ronen Bitan, CEO at Trailze. “We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Bird, the leaders in the shared micromobility space, and use our unique navigation technology to revolutionize the way people move around in our cities.”
SOURCE Bird
