Result of a close collaboration between, Indigo weel, Toyota Tsusho Corporation and the Japanese personal mobility manufacturer WHILL, this innovative service, which will be tested in a world preview in Toulouse, will allow people with light reduced mobility to easily access shared electric wheelchairs that are connected, light and designed to appeal to larger audiences. Available in the Victor Hugo and Capitole Indigo car parks, these chairs will be available for hire using the application of INDIGO® weel.
The Future of MaaS (Mobility as a Service) is Integration
In France, reduced mobility impacts the lives of circa 850,OOO persons according to the INSEE*. The ageing of the population will see an acceleration in the coming years, particularly in regions like Europe and Japan. The last year has seen a boom of offerings in shared micromobility to fight urban pollution and congestion but this will be the first time a vehicle designed for light reduced mobility is fully integrated into a micromobility platform. Toyota Tsusho Corporation a global player in the smart mobility arena strongly believes in the combination of micromobility in MaaS as a major force driving the rapid transformation of urban transportation. That is why Toyota Tsusho Corporation decided to partner up with INDIGO® weel in the City of Toulouse to bring about this very innovative project.
*Sources : INSEE (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques), INPES (Institut national de prévention et d’éducation pour la santé) et Caisse nationale de solidarité pour l’autonomie (CNSA).
An agile electric wheelchair
Ultra-light, electric and handy, the WHILL Model C wheelchair is a technological feat, weighing only 52kgs. All-terrain, the traditional front tires have given way to omni-wheels, which themselves are true clusters of innovation, consisting of an assembly of several similarly shaped elastic bands that give the vehicle a turning radius unique for the market. This advanced technology will allow INDIGO® weel to offer one of the best mobility products on the market.
Who are these chairs for?
These chairs are aimed for people with light reduced mobility who want to try an efficient electric vehicle, elderly people or people suffering from both long and short-term injuries and impairments.
Proof of concept
This experimentation, with 4 chairs in 2 car parks, aim to evaluate under which conditions this service could be available in a larger scale using INDIGO® weel platform.
How to rent a Whill electric wheelchair?
1 – Simply download the INDIGO® weel application on the App Store (Apple-IOS) or on the Play store (Android) then create a profile in seconds;
2 – Choose your parking and book your chair (2 hours in advance). Customer service will ensure that the vehicle will be available;
3 – User can access their chair directly from the carpark getting in touch with the Indigo agent who will explain user how to operate the chair;
4 – User can start their rental and use a dedicated elevator to leave the car park;
5 – The customer returns their chair to the Indigo agent.
Practical details: how much does the service cost and when can I rent them?
- Parking Indigo Capitole:
- The service will be available from 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; from 11:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays,
- Chairs will be offered for 4-hour packages, at a cost of €5. Every additional hour will cost €1,
- a €100 deposit will be taken at the beginning of the rental
- the time required for the car to be parked during the rental of the chair will be included in the €5 fee.
- Parking Indigo Victor Hugo:
- The service will be available from 7:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. 7 days a week,
- Chairs will be offered for 4-hour packages, at a cost of €5. Every additional hour will cost €1,
- No deposit will be taken,
- Car parking time will be paid directly to Parking Indigo.
At the beginning, the maximum rental period will be 4 hours. By the end of 2019, we will extend to 48 hours, in order to promote weekend rentals.
A service provided in close collaboration with the city of Toulouse
In April 2018 INDIGO® weel launched its self-service mobility service in close collaboration with the city of Toulouse. Since then, the app has been downloaded 300,000 times, and nearly 2,000 bicycles and 250 e-scooters have been deployed in the city. A true multimodal platform, Indigo weel continues to upgrade its service and promote accessibility for all.
“We are proud to be the first micro-mobility operator in the world to offer a service for people with reduced mobility. We decided to partner with Toyota Tsusho Corporation to develop this unique service, as “Mobility for All” has been the DNA with which we have developed our service. We have developed a truly responsible service for bikes and e-scooters, where each ride on our platform end by a picture of the parked vehicle. Each picture is then evaluated to ensure our users have parked our bikes and e-scooters responsibly in the city, to ensure they do not obstruct pathways and roads in the cities where we operate. Mobility for all being at the heart of INDIGO Weel’s DNA, we are happy to take this promise one step further by providing this unique and innovative service.” stated Paul Valencia, CEO of Mobility Digital Solutions mother company of INDIGO weel.
Yasuhiro Kakihara, Chief Operating Officer for Electronics SBU of Toyota Tsusho Corporation stated “Toyota Tsusho Corporation is proud to take part in this project with Indigo Weel in the city of Toulouse. Our objective of this micro mobility service is based on “Mobility for All” that is deeply rooted in Toyota Group. It is a great opportunity to extend the service for reduced mobility with accessible technologies. Of course, this just a proof of concept but we expect that we’ll learn many lessons here in Toulouse, and this will make it easier to design sustainable and innovative mobility solutions for all, particularly people with mobility challenges. Also this project embodies well our company values: we feel strongly about making a contribution to a ever better society”.