Micro-mobility Leader, Helbiz, Launches Partnership with OurStreets

Collaboration will provide invaluable crowd-sourced data to keep D.C. streets safe

Follows Helbiz’s successful launch of e-bikes in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Helbiz, a global leader in micro-mobility, today announced its partnership with OurStreets, a mobile application that uses crowdsourcing to report and analyze dangerous riding behavior and shared micro-mobility issues. As OurStreets’ first micro-mobility partner, Helbiz and OurStreets will enter a month-long pilot, which will provide Helbiz with direct access to OurStreets’ reports for quick and easy resolutions for bikes that are broken or blocking the public right of way.

“Helbiz is committed to ensuring that our devices are safe and secure for our riders, which is why we partnered with OurStreets,” said Gian Luca Spriano, Director of International Business Development. “The data we’ll receive from OurStreets will help us make more informed decisions for our deployment strategy and help resolve any issues more efficiently.”

Currently, when a member of the public sees a bike or scooter with an issue—tipped over, broken, improperly parked—that person has to use the app of each bike or scooter operator in order to report the issue. As a result, many of these issues go unreported and the problems around sidewalk clutter go largely unresolved. Through this pilot program, OurStreets allows anyone to use the OurStreets app to report issues with Helbiz e-bikes by enabling them to easily scan the bike’s QR code, which provides the bike's ID and location to Helbiz. The OurStreets report can then be efficiently resolved in one of three simple ways: 1) the OurStreets user moves the bike to a safe location; 2) the bike is rented; or 3) the Helbiz operations team resolves the issue.

This month-long pilot gives Helbiz the opportunity to make data-driven decisions about how it operates in Washington, D.C. With actionable insights from OurStreets users, the Helbiz field operations team will have the data needed to respond to issues more quickly, keeping vehicles operating and respond directly to concerns from community members. Additionally, Helbiz users are encouraged to use OurStreets as a tool to address the dangerous driving behavior they experience as vulnerable road users.

“We are excited to provide a meaningful link between city residents and operators,” says OurStreets Founder and CEO Mark Sussman. “These kinds of partnerships are a way to ensure that exciting micro-mobility solutions are integrated in our communities in a positive way, while empowering everyone to take better care of our shared public spaces.”

ABOUT HELBIZ

Helbiz is a global leader in micro-mobility services. Launched in 2017 and headquartered in New York City, the company operates e-scooters and e-bicycles in over 20 cities around the world including Milan, Madrid, Belgrade and Miami. Helbiz utilizes a customized, proprietary fleet management platform, artificial intelligence and environmental mapping to optimize operations and business sustainability.

ABOUT OURSTREETS

OurStreets is a mobile app that uses crowdsourcing to track dangerous driving behavior, like cars blocking bike lanes and crosswalks, and shared micromoblity issues, like bikes and scooters blocking sidewalks. OurStreets provides key stakeholders—like advocacy organizations, municipal enforcement and transportation planning, and mobility operators—­with actionable insights to make our streets safer.