Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

As we turned up for work yesterday at the AOPG offices in Cyberjaya we noticed a new addition to the line up of Go Cars and So Cars – some orange electric powered scooters had mysteriously turned up overnight. All became clear when by coincidence a press release from Neuron Mobility (given in full below) crossed our news desk.

Ride-sharing app based e-scooters comes under disruptive technology in our minds so not only did we decide to publish the story, but we also sent our group publisher Andrew Martin out to try these scooters.

Sign up was simple and getting used to how the e-scooter handled was also very quick. We took Neuron at its word of providing transport for the last mile and took a scooter for a mile long “spin” and it was quick and convenient.

It also looks like Neuron have learned from the downfall of the bike-share apps and insist you upload a picture of your “parked” scooter before they allow you to end your ride. This should help avoid the littering of vehicles as we saw with the bike companies that came and disappeared. We won’t comment on pricing here as that’s a business issue more than a technical issue, but if they get the pricing right the most important thing will be the analytics and truly being part of creating a connected smart city. the key is understanding the patterns of usage people need and placing scooters in the right place at the right time. That will take monitoring, connecting and accurate analysis, in our view not just of the devices but also by collecting views and thoughts of the local community and patching all the data together.

Speaking to our group publisher, Andrew told us he hopes this initiative doesn’t go the same way as the bike share companies, and the fact that Neron are piloting this first is a good sign they are thinking carefully about howto get this right. If Cyberjaya is to become a leading smart city then it needs to have smart transport options like this.

full press release below:

SOUTHEAST Asian e-scooter service, Neuron Mobility, on Jan 10 launched its e-scooter sharing services in Malaysia as part of the company’s regional expansion plans.

The launch in Cyberjaya makes it the fourth major Southeast Asian city to offer Neuron’s personal mobility service, after Singapore, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai.

Neuron Mobility owns and operates the largest e-scooter sharing fleet in Singapore and Thailand, and will start deploying the e-scooters at key commercial spots in Cyberjaya as part of a pilot programme to assess feasibility and demand in the Multimedia Super Corridor of Malaysia.

“At the heart of Neuron Mobility’s growth is our goal to improve personal mobility in cities”, said CEO Zachary Wang. “Cyberjaya is on its way to becoming Malaysia’s smartest city, and we are glad to be able to contribute towards this goal by solving the issues of last mile mobility.”

The company uses real-time telematics and geospatial simulation models for predictive analytics and network optimisation. First-time riders are required to go through an instructional series on safety before they start using the service.

“Cities are becoming both bigger and smarter, and new cities like Cyberjaya offer a unique opportunity for companies to develop intelligent infrastructure from the ground up,” Wang continues.

“Smart transportation is not just an alternative, to some it may soon become the de-facto choice for urban commutes. It is our vision to build reliable technologies to answer the need for personal mobility in these populated zones.”

Neuron Mobility emphasises heavily on building a sustainable platform to drive growth in smart city initiatives by further funding the development of technologies which will culminate in the imminent launch of their own commercial grade e-scooter, a world first, to enhance robustness and rider safety while complying with PMD laws across Southeast Asia.

Beyond Malaysia, the company has also set its sights on other major cities in the region. The launch comes on the heels of a partnership with Thailand’s Sansiri Public Company Limited, and follows a recent S$5 million raise to expand their last mile connectivity services to Asia Pacific’s biggest and most congested cities.

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