Smart Scooters to create 20 jobs following investment

Ready for take-off: Lee Roche, chief executive of Smart Scooters

Ellie Donnelly Twitter Email

April 05 2021 02:30 AM

Smart Scooters, an Irish e-scooter sharing platform, is creating 20 new jobs following a six-figure investment in its Dublin-based operation.

The start-up company currently employs eight people.

The roles being created will largely be in tech, operations and customer care, and are expected to come on board over the coming months.

“We are based locally and have a detailed understanding of the cities and towns we hope to operate in,” Lee Roche, chief executive of Smart Scooters, said.

“We’re also in discussions with a wide range of hotel chains and tour operators, both of whom see the enormous potential for our e-scooter sharing scheme,” he added.

The funding was raised privately and used to buy e-scooters, as well as develop the company’s software.

“We are also talking to other potential investors who are keen to get involved in this sector," Mr Roche said.

As all scooter operators wait for the Government to pass e-scooter legislation, expected this summer, Smart Scooters said it is working with local councils and potential partners in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny. Trials are ongoing and further jobs will come on stream on receipt of operating licences, the company said.

Smart Scooters was set up in 2019 by brothers Lee and Dylan Roche and their cousin Gerard Rowe after they identified a gap in the Irish market for a scooter sharing platform.

The company is launching this year.

In order to use the company’s scooters, customers will download the company’s Smart E Scooter app and input their bank card details.

There is a one-minute safety video to view as soon as the app is activated.

Once a customer is finished using the e-scooter they will be asked to park it sensibly, in accordance with local councils' regulations and take a picture of the stationary scooter.

Users will be charged an unlock fee of €1 plus 15c per minute to use the e-scooters.

The scooters operate from 6:00am to 10:00pm and users must be over the age of 17.

All the scooters that the company uses are either the Action Pro-2.0 or the latest 3.0 model, which have at least a two year lifespan, according to the company.

The scooters have a maximum range of 49 kilometers, depending on usage, and the maximum speed limit is 17km.