umob co-founder, Raymon Pouwels | Image credit: umob
Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has a new Mobility-as-a-Service platform, umob, that brings together all mobility providers in one app.
The company was founded by Raymon Pouwels, former founder and CEO of GO Sharing, together with Bibi Jorissen.
Users of the umob app just need one account and payment method to complete their journey using various means of transportation.
“Together we can offer the density needed to increase shared mobility,” says Raymon Pouwels.
Pouwels, with his expertise as founder and CEO of GO Sharing, believes that umob represents the next significant development in the accessibility of mobility for everybody.
“To compete with ownership, we still need to take a major leap forward in terms of convenience. Now that GO Sharing is in good hands, I continue my mission with umob,” adds Pouwels.
Brief about umob
Every city’s foundation is its ability to move around. This is why umob was founded, to help people move sustainably, effectively, and easily from A to B.
“As technology continues to evolve, so do our options of transportation, and that’s where umob comes in. Fact is, mobility is the lifeblood of our cities and essential for our daily lives. That will stay,” says the company.
By developing a single platform that connects all current forms of transport, umob wants to motivate people and cities to completely commit to sustainable travel.
“It’s our mission to provide our users with one single app to ride them all, for ourselves and for our planet – as our slogan states.”
It hopes that governments, localities, and transportation providers can collaborate to improve the customer experience and guarantee the most efficient and sustainable systems are in place.
umob aims to scale up internationally
The umob platform puts the user first and seeks to integrate various modes of transportation, including taxis, shared scooters, and bicycles.
As per a statement from umob, 10 other providers have agreed to integrate this year and the platform currently has connections to the initial services.
As a result, in addition to taxis and public transit, there will be more than 200,000 shared automobiles accessible. Although the Netherlands are initially the main emphasis, umob hopes to soon expand globally.
Pouwels says, “It’s simple for consumers: you want to have a means of transport at your disposal within a 3-minute walk. To achieve this, a provider of shared scooters must offer more than 5,000 vehicles in a city like Amsterdam.”
“Currently, only 350 are allowed per provider. But all mobility providers together, including taxis and public transport, do provide the desired density of supply,” says Pouwels.
GO Sharing was acquired by Turkey’s BinBin
Founded in 2019 by Raymon Pouwels, Doeke Boersma and Donny van den Oever, Go Sharing aims to make transportation accessible and sustainable while reducing its visual impact on the urban scenery.
The company expanded into many countries, including Italy and Turkey, and raised a total of €60M in expansion capital. After leaving unproductive cities to maintain its financial stability, GO Sharing was bought by Turkish shared transport company BinBin at the beginning of this year.
Pouwels adds, “I have seen the shared mobility market grow strongly, but we are still in the early stages of an enormous change in behavior regarding the ownership and use of mobility.”
“In order to compete with property, we need to take a major leap forward in terms of convenience. Now that GO Sharing is in good hands, I continue my mission with umob.”