Circ, the micro-mobility champion that took the UAE by storm in July 2019, has revealed that riders have travelled over 500,000km on Circ e-scooters over the company’s first 150 days of operation in Abu Dhabi. The traction in the UAE capital is one of the highest for the company worldwide, with the distance travelled on its fleet equating to riding around the world 12 times over.
With Abu Dhabi as the pioneer of micro mobility in the region and under the guidance of the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), Circ is contributing to Abu Dhabi’s smart city initiatives around sustainability, innovation and efficient transportation solutions.
Having the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the Middle East, Circ has made a large investment to support Abu Dhabi’s Environmental Vision 2030: Circ rides to-date have eliminated 114 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) that would have been generated by cars and other vehicles.
As a sign of its broad adoption across the Emirate, Circ has enabled more than 250,000 rides for over 50,000 unique riders. The service has addressed a variety of use cases showing promising signs that people are willing to substitute the car for short distance trips. It starts with leisure rides to explore Abu Dhabi, closely followed by personal errands and then either first-mile / last-mile or office commutes.
Jaideep Dhanoa, Circ MENA Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, says: “Circ’s purpose-built e-scooters have received extraordinary customer feedback since we began operation in July, which is a testament to the safe, efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transport that we’ve providing to the city. As the number one most-downloaded travel application on the UAE iOS App Store and Google Play Store, we’ve successfully embedded micro-mobility into the daily lives of Abu Dhabi residents and visitors. The city’s adoption of affordable micro-mobility transportation options is improving connectivity, facilitating local commerce, enabling access to opportunity, and alleviating traffic congestion and pollution.”
Bader Al Kalooti, Circ MENA Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, says: “We’ve seen that half of our users (49%) are millennials between the ages of 26 and 35, and yet a large portion (16%) falls within the 40+ age bracket, which indicates that our e-scooters are having a positive impact on the community as a whole. We will therefore continue to lead and grow the market for micro-mobility through investing heavily in technology, operations and best in class hardware.”
Furthermore, Circ e-scooters were also effective in supporting Abu Dhabi’s mega cultural, touristic and sporting events. This includes the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2019, which was the first event of its kind globally to be serviced by a micro-mobility operator as Circ launched its services on Yas Island ahead of the highly anticipated Race Weekend. Through collaborative partnerships with leading real estate developers and community stakeholders across the capital city, Circ is currently operational in 13 communities.
With safety at the core of its operations, Circ has hosted 12 ‘Circ Safety Academy’ sessions since its inception, which serves to educate users about the safe and effective use of the e-scooters. Going forward, Circ will continue to invest in educating users to adhere to safety precautions, such as driving safely only on cycle paths, wide sidewalks and minor roads, and where and how to park the e-scooters in a responsible way that doesn’t impair pedestrian access, roads or building entrances. As part of its responsible approach, Circ also provides comprehensive insurance for all its e-scooter rides.