Micromobility industry is moving from disruptive scaling stage into a sustainable, urban transport integrated, and more constructive approach. Several European countries’ city governments are calling for designated parking areas for shared electric vehicles.
So we entered into a cooperation with DUCKT, a provider of universal infrastructure for urban micromobility. DUCKT provides charging and docking stations for e-bikes and e-scooters, allowing safe parking, securing and charging of e-vehicles. The cooperation will allow Segway’s customers to order shared electric scooters with DUCKT adapters and ready to use DUCKT charging and docking stations around the world.
Today we sat down for a conversation with Cagri Selcuklu, Co-founder & CEO of DUCKT to discovery more details regarding the partnership and learn Selcuklu’s insights on the future of micromobility infrastructure.
- Please tell us what is DUCKT’s offerings to the micromobility?
We are developing infrastructure solutions for Micromobility. Our main focus is to enable safe and sustainable integration of e-mobility solutions to our urban environment and existing mobility systems, charging is one of the important aspects.
Unlike other charging alternatives in the market that has more of a ‘downstream’ labor approach, we believe the real solution is more ‘upstream’. That is why we focus a tremendous amount of energy in working with cities, vehicle manufacturers and utility providers. We collaborate with these partners to define a ‘standard’ for all vehicles. A standard that is fully automated, urban proof and easy to use and will enable people to dock, lock & charge any vehicle, fleet or personal, e-bike or scooter, all in one place without taking any extra actions. So, it can be usable and sustainable.
Our business models are unique to the industry as well. You can either buy our products & services with all necessary support included and build your own business model or we bring our stations for free in collaboration with public and/or private land owners and the operators can just pay as much as they use, lowering their operation costs.
- How does DUCKT charging station integrated with Segway shared scooters through the partnership?
Up until now, DUCKT only had after-market solutions, meaning that you can have any fleet and we will send you our adapters with installation manuals. It would take you 15mins to integrate one vehicle.
But infrastructure ready vehicles are now in the market thanks to our collaboration with Segway and we believe we are now opening a new chapter towards creating industry standards.
Through this collaboration, customers can buy a Segway vehicle with Duckt adapter and API already integrated with the vehicle. Segway vehicle will be ready to use Duckt out of the box infrastructure solutions. What customers need to do is to let Segway know during purchase, unbox vehicle, register API and just push into the Duckt station. We will automatically recognize the vehicle ID, lock secure the vehicle, end ride automatically and start charging all under 1 second with one action.
- Scooter litter and inconsiderate parking are a huge problem for cities. What do you think are best ways to address those concerns?
Even with all we are experiencing in our cities today, I believe it is still early days. Micromobility has a great potential that is yet to be achieved. This only means more scale and faster growth in the coming years. This is where the problem starts for the cities. Although urban e-mobility is a must, cities and authorities, due to their size and organization, cannot act as fast as technology startups.
Regulations and definitions are developing and already providing positive evidence. Operators are collaborating with cities more and more every day. But the industry is growing and soon we will be out of the pandemic standards with higher demand.
We should bring the industry to an ecosystem state. Everybody knows that punishing bad behavior does not work as effective as rewarding the good behavior. For good behavior to become the new norm in any type of mobility, infrastructure has always been the key. When you enable a stakeholder based, easy to use and all-inclusive infrastructure, people and companies will use it.
- How do you think about the future of micromobility industry from the infrastructure point of view? Where are the big opportunities in the micromobility industry for now?
There are global players taking similar actions in different markets. This is a behavior driven by startup technology habits for operational efficiency. But urban mobility has different demands in different regions. We see both the cities and companies acting on this reality. Pioneer cities like Paris are already taking actions in collaboration with Duckt, defined by their experience and demand specific to their city. An agile, universal and modular solution will be the key.
Efficiency and sustainability are two of the most important aspects for micromobility industry. There are several changes that will be triggered by this. Operations will need to streamline towards becoming more sustainable. Do we really need more batteries for a 10-minute ride? Vehicles will need to become less complex and easier for the public to use rather than big heavy and complex structures. And of course, finally, public should have integrated access to an infrastructure that allows more options in one place.
- What’s next for DUCKT?
DUCKT is already delivering. We are active in more than 20 countries around the globe with more than 1000 stations. Our partnership with Segway will accelerate this trend to next level. Now we are moving towards a ‘micromobility infrastructure standard’. We will keep announcing new partnerships with cities, utility and mobility companies around the globe.
But most importantly, this year we will also start our city operations. Starting with Paris and many more to add. Follow us on Linkedin or contact info@duckt.app to learn more about upcoming projects, our future targets and partnerships.
