Stage is partnering with Smovengo – a grouping which consists of Smoove, Moventia, Mobivia and Park Indigo - to deploy its Bico AI optimisation platform across Smovengo’s Vélib bike-share system in the French capital.
The company says its system allows users to collect, manage and visualise data and turn it into actionable insights; it has already been used in bike-share schemes in Helsinki, Finland; Chicago, US; and Guadalajara, Mexico.
Stage says Smovengo will be able to use AI “to increase the usability” of 21,000 Vélib bikes, 7,000 of which will be electric. Stage’s involvement will create “new efficiencies, cost reductions and a better bike-share experience” with the result that riders will be able to access bikes easily and find free docks at the end of their journey. The theory is that the consistency of the user experience means more people will therefore be persuaded to incorporate bikes into their daily journeys.
Stage is expanding Bico to incorporate the management of electric and hybrid bikes and says it will also add ‘broken bike’ and ‘user availability’ applications.
“We have already seen rides of six to 10 per bike per day on our mechanical and e-bike respectively,” says Pierre Heyraud, COO at Smovengo. “That benefits our organisation but more importantly it makes Paris a healthier and more sustainable city.”
In November, Bico was selected by %$Linker: