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Anant Shiv, a student of International Design and Business Management (IDBM), is the operations manager of Samocat Sharing, a kick scooter service in Otaniemi. He is also working on his thesis on the development of the service.

Six kick scooter sharing stations from which a scooter can be picked up have been installed on Aalto University’s campus in Otaniemi. The location of the sharing stations, the availability of the scooters and the space for returning them can be checked on a free smartphone application that can be downloaded from the Apple and Google webstores. About 30 kick scooters are available and they can be tested for free for a period of less than 30 minutes.

The distances between the different locations of lectures and sites at the university are relatively long and the aim is to use the kick scooters to complement other forms of transport especially at the beginning and end of the journey also in future.

‘A kick scooter is a very practical means of transport: it folds so you can bring it on the bus and even indoors. Moreover, it is a fun way to get around and also rather cheap’, says Anant Shiv, a student of International Design and Business Management (IDBM), who is responsible for the service in Otaniemi.

During the three-month pilot in Otaniemi, it is hoped that the students, staff and visitors at VTT and Aalto will be testing the kick scooters. At the same time, feedback on the use of the service will be collected to improve it.

‘The extensive infrastructure and the international community of Aalto University make it an excellent place to pilot the service in Finland. I am confident that we will receive a lot of honest feedback for improving the service’, Anant Shiv says.

Otaniemi is the second area where Samocat Sharing, the company that brought the kick scooters to Finland, has implemented a pilot in Europe. The scooters have previously been tested in Moscow, the largest city of the continent.

The locations of the kick scooter sharing stations on the Otaniemi campus:
Urban Mill
Harald Herlin Learning Centre
Undergraduate Centre, Alvar Square
Undergraduate Centre, main lobby
Maari Building
Teekkarikylä student village, bus stop at Otakaari 18

Samocat Sharing application in webstores:
Google Play
App Store

Samocat Sharing in

Photo: Samocat Sharing, video Aalto University