Zipp Mobility welcomes Irish government’s approval of e-scooter legislation

On 19 October 2021, Ireland’s Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, and Minister of State, Hildegarde Naughton TD, announced the publication of the Government of Ireland‘s Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021. The wide-ranging bill set-outs to deliver on key legislative commitments in the Programme for Government, including the creation of a new class of powered personal transporters (PPTs), including e-scooters, and that the Minister will be able to provide for the use of these vehicles in public places under existing regulatory powers.

Charlie Gleeson, CEO and Founder of Zipp Mobility, the Irish micro-mobility operator, said: “We welcome today’s announcement by Ministers Ryan and Naughton of the publication of the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021, which will be introduced into the Dáil in the coming weeks. This is an exciting and long-awaited development which will allow for the regulation of e-scooters and also e-bikes in Ireland.”

“Zipp is currently operating scooter-sharing services in several cities across the UK and Poland, and we’re looking forward to introducing our ‘mobility done right’ e-scooter service across Ireland once the new Bill passes into law. Zipp was founded with the objective of bringing sustainable scooter-sharing services to Ireland, and we are delighted that we are one step closer to doing this,” he added.

Since its establishment in 2019, Zipp has raised €2.1 million in funding and has become a significant player in the European scooter-sharing market, with operations in the UK and Poland. The company plans to launch in several Irish cities including Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford once the new Bill is passed into law, and the company is also planning to begin operations in Portugal and Spain in early 2022.