Lime and Pony are working on systems to detect users who embark a passenger on their scooter. A technological solution that could be deployed quickly.
Detect a user who embarks a passenger on his self-service scooter to prevent this misuse of the use of these devices. Alongside their prevention policies, the American Lime (present in Paris, Lyon or even Marseille) and the French Pony (present in around twenty cities in France and Belgium) have developed systems to prevent this illegal practice which is considered dangerous, again recently by Clément Beaune in an interview with the JDD. “Being two on a scooter is prohibited and it is the cause of one serious accident in 5”, recalled the Minister of Transport.
“In less than 30 seconds, the sensors will detect the variation in weight on the scooter and analyze the presence of 2 people on the same vehicle”, explains Hadi Karam, general manager of Lime France at the Autonomy show which is held in Paris on March 22 and 23. Lime presents for the first time this system called “Single rider recognition technology” and developed in-house.
Supporting demonstration: two Lime engineers ride a scooter. After approximately 30 seconds, the latter rings, slows down and then stops. According to the weight distribution, the angle of inclination of the scooter in the turns, the scooter has detected the presence of a second passenger.
“One person at a time”
A message then warns the user on his application with a red pictogram next to an image showing two people on a scooter: “Only one person at a time. Safety issue. Do not hesitate to reserve another vehicle if you want to ride with friends”.
“The user will not be able to take the scooter back, will have to park it in a dedicated location and take another vehicle, alone”, continues Hadi Karam, who highlights “an advance for safety in the public space”.
At Pony, also present at the Autonomy show, the scooter does not even start. It rings directly and warns the user that “path 2 has been detected”. “The sensors that will detect the number of feet on the scooter are installed in its floor,” explains Guillem Leroux, public policy manager at Pony.
“We then refer users to our double-Pony, our two-seater self-service bicycles, if they want to travel together,” explains Guillem Leroux.
Rapid deployment
Without giving specific dates of entry into force, the two operators explain that the deployment can be rapid. “We just need to have an optimization of the software of our vehicles, the sensors are already present on the scooters”, confides Hadi Karam. Pony announces for its part a gradual arrival of nearly 300 machines in France by May.
A solution that Lime could in particular deploy in Paris, if the operator is renewed within the framework of the call for tenders and especially if the vote organized on April 2 by the City of Paris ends with the maintenance of free scooters. service.
