SWEDEN: DISCOVERING STOCKHOLM ON A VESPA. During 2016 Swedish importer SPG Import supplied the “Travel & Rental Stockholm” company (based in Stockholm and with secondary offices in Gothenburg) with a fleet of a dozen Vespa Sprint 50cc two-wheelers. The scooters allow tourists and residents to move around freely and discover the most fascinating spots of the capital and the surrounding area.
The initiative has proved very successful, and is even mentioned on Trip Advisor (https://www.tripadvisor.se/Attraction_Review-g189852-d8444123-Reviews-Vespa_Stockholm-Stockholm.html). The Vespa fleet is equipped with GPS and an interactive map: just a click and customers renting the scooters have immediate access to a “guide” to help them tour the city without getting lost or missing the main sights. The rental fee includes insurance, helmet and fuel. Booking is easy and off you go, ready to explore the sights of Stockholm. The founder of the rental company tells us: “I realised that Stockholm doesn’t offer visitors much in terms of mobility: getting on and off buses? wearing yourself out on a bicycle?. Riding a Vespa is much better! I fitted the scooters with an interactive map and GPS, so the customers can explore the city for themselves or follow the suggested itineraries. More than a simple rental service, I’ve created a new way of seeing Stockholm!”. After the winter break, the new Vespa Tour season will start at the beginning of April 2017.
INFO:
www.vespastockholm.com/why-vespa-tours
CROATIA: TOURISTS ON PIAGGIO AND APRILIA SCOOTERS. Dealer Auto Hrvatska Zadar also has a rental company among his customers, which is developing its services for tourists: AVIA is a successful car rental firm, now expanding its business with a fleet of rental scooters. Over the last two years, AVIA has increased its vehicle fleet, and now has around thirty Piaggio Typhoons and Liberty 50s and Aprilia SR Motards, all 50cc. The “scooter rent” service includes insurance and helmets.
AUSTRIA: SCOOTER SHARING IN VIENNA, WITH THE VESPA. AS FROM 2017. Mo2drive is a start-up based in Vienna. Established in April 2016, the company offers a scooter-sharing service, halfway between car-sharing and bicycle-sharing. The nearest scooter can be easily located and booked with a smartphone app: then you’re ready to go, and no need for an ignition key, thanks to a special software system that controls the scooter “remotely”. The rental service includes: helmets (stored below the saddle), fuel, cleaning, insurance and repairs.
The innovative mobility offer delivers advantages in terms of rapid travel, parking and lower pollution compared with automobiles. The initial fleet for the service launch – in early 2017 – includes 55 Vespa Primavera 50cc scooters. Mo2drive plans to expand the number of vehicles over the next three years, and is aiming to make 250 scooters available for customers in Vienna.
INFO:
www.mo2drive.com
The centre of Vienna, a UNESCO “world heritage site”.
The Piaggio Group has been awarded the contract put out for tender by the Madrid city authorities, Environment and Mobility Department, for the supply of new vehicles for the municipal police force. The important contract is for 160 Piaggio MP3s, the Piaggio Group’s innovative three-wheel scooter, of which 132 MP3s in the powerful 500 Business ABS\ASR version to be used by police officers and the remaining vehicles in the MP3 300 Business ABS\ASR version for road patrol officers.
The award of the contract is a new confirmation for the Piaggio MP3, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. The scooter was chosen from among the other vehicles on the strength of its superior stability and safety, performance, reliability, low consumption and ease of use, in traffic and in all weather conditions. The scooters have been accessorized with sirens and flashing led front lights, an electric or manual 360° led light, as well as exclusive graphics for immediate recognition. (Milan, 15 March 2017).
THE MADRID MUNICIPAL RELEASE. On 10 October 2016, the Madrid municipal website (www.madrid.es) announced that, beginning that day, its Municipal Police Force had begun its patrol service on new vehicles Piaggio MP3, equipped with “Police” fittings, including sirens, flashing lights and personalised livery. The City press release describes the Piaggio three-wheelers as “safer and more comfortable, with latest-generation technology, new emergency lights and high visibility thanks to the reflector elements”, ideal for patrolling the streets of the Spanish capital.
The new fleet, says also the release, was purchased in response to the recommendations of the City Department of Health & Safety (departamento de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales del Ayuntamiento de Madrid) on motorcycle patrol duties. Before being acquired, the Piaggio vehicles were tested by police motorcyclists, who gave them the thumbs up.
The Piaggio MP3 is a best-seller, also on the fleets market: for many years, it has been the vehicle of choice of many scooter sharing-rental companies, as well as many European and overseas metropolitan police forces, such as Madrid and London, and the police forces in Israel and Palestine.
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