Travellers' Checks | Scooter-hire app expands in Europe - book through your smartphone and pick up nearest one available
Rome joins Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon on list of cities served by eCooltra, whose creators hope to be serving 20 cities across Europe by 2019. Rides work out at about HK$2 a minute
Europe’s biggest scooter rental firm, Cooltra, has extended its new app-controlled eCooltra service to Rome. Launched last year in Barcelona, and since then in Madrid and Lisbon, eCooltra lets users rent an electric scooter through their smartphone. A map shows the location of up to 250 scooters all over town. Click to book the scooter and you have 15 minutes to find it – with the help of its locator alarm and flashing lights, if necessary.
The app also displays the battery power and expected range of the scooter, which has USB ports for charging your phone or tablet. When you find the scooter, just put on your helmet (two are provided), start the motor and ride away. The hire fee is about HK$2 per minute, which should, for example, get you from Vatican City to the Colosseum for about HK$20.