Sell it to me in a sentence…
Sell? You can’t buy this electric scooter: it’s the newest machine from shared mobility operator Tier, which operates rental fleets in Essex, London, Milton Keynes and York.
Erm, okay then… rent it to me in a sentence?
Tier’s newest rental e-scooter features a number of small but substantial changes designed to make it easier to use – and having launched in several European markets it could come to London and other UK cities at some point in 2023.
Did you go to Germany and rent one?
There was no need. Move Electric was invited for a UK first ride at Tier’s glamorous operations centre in Deptford, London. Because the facility is located in a borough that isn’t part of the London e-scooter trial scheme, we tested it on the private roads of the industrial estate.
It doesn’t look that different to the old one…
The Tier 6 – or C1, as it’s referred to within the company – doesn’t reinvent the e-scooter wheel. But that’s not the intention: rental e-scooters have to meet tight and tough regulations that means there isn’t that much room for radical design leaps.
But don’t think progress isn’t being made: if you line up every generation of e-scooter from any long-standing shared mobility company you’d easily spot steady, deliberate progress in terms of design, form and features.
The Tier 6 is the latest step in refining the firm’s offerings, with a number of changes based on customer feedback and ongoing development.
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As with many other shared mobility firms, Tier doesn’t actually make its own e-scooters. With a number of proven, credible manufacturers in the market, the firm chooses to buy in the machines with a number of customisations to its own requirements. Tier believes doing that allows it to focus its efforts on where it feels it can make a difference, such as customer service, its app and operations.
Currently, the fifth-generation Tier machine you’ll find on the streets of the UK is an Okai-produced model, but the new Tier 6 is produced by Segway (yes, the firm best known for those wobbly two-wheelers is now one of the world’s leading e-scooter makers).
Why the switch from Okai to Segway?
Tier certainly isn’t abandoning Okai e-scooters: it will likely be using its fifth-generation machines in certain markets worldwide for years to come. But one of the key reasons for switching to Segway is about making its logistics easier: Tier also uses Segway e-bikes.