Riding High

Amir Melad, General Manager at TIER, on the extensive advanced safety features in the new e-scooter that put it a cut above the rest

TIER, Europe's leading shared micro-mobility provider, recently announced the launch of its next-generation e-scooter — the TIER V scooter — rolling out in Dubai. The launch of the new e-scooters comes in line with the UAE’s vision to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Amir Melad, General Manager at TIER said that the new scooter model is designed for frequent urban use and has a service life of five years, while effectively having an unlimited lifespan due to entirely modular, replaceable, and repairable components. He further added that the TIER 5 model has advanced safety features including three independent brakes, grippy handlebars, wide large tires, and a particularly bright light. In addition, TIER has equipped its latest generation with signal indicators that offer 360° visibility, the only e-scooter that has this feature in the Middle East region. One other important safety feature that Melad pointed out is incident reporting. He said that TIER has made a partnership with a global safety platform that can detect if the user has fallen off and sends an SOS to emergency contacts and TIER’s customer care in 30 seconds.

Carbon neutrality

Melad said that TIER is the global benchmark when it comes to sustainability in micro-mobility and setting the industry standards as it has become fully carbon neutral since 2020. He added that at COP26, TIER’s CEO was nominated to address the Transport Ministers and present the ‘Call for Action’ on behalf of the International Transport Forum Corporate Partnership Board (ITF CPB), outlining six key points to decarbonise transport, including financial and regulatory requirements, infrastructure needs, and the need for even closer and continued collaboration between the private and public sectors. As the UAE is preparing to host the COP28 in 2023, Melad said that his company’s vision marches in line with the UAE’s vision to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. TIER is eager to extend its collaboration with the UAE local authorities on carbon neutrality and sustainability projects in the transportation field in the UAE. As part of its commitment to sustainability, the company has adopted the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guiding framework and has set a clear agenda for reducing and offsetting emissions. As a result of these measures, TIER Mobility has been a climate-neutral company since January 2020. Since TIER launched under the RTA’s umbrella it's scooters have travelled a total distance of more than 1.5 million kilometres in just one year and have helped save more than 18,500 kg of CO2, providing a step towards a sustainable lifestyle and benefiting the environment.

Standing out

TIER offers a fleet that includes e-scooters, e-bikes, and e-mopeds across 160 cities globally. In addition, the brand provides a seamless experience for users who can travel across the 160 cities and rent available vehicles on the spot using the same app and payment methods. It also has an in-app routing to follow the shortest and safest path while providing wireless charging for the users' devices.

Ensuring sustainability

The new scooter model is designed for frequent urban use and has a service life of five years while effectively having an unlimited lifespan due to entirely modular, replaceable, and repairable components. Melad said that as per the study conducted by ITF in 2020, the TIER 5 uses swappable batteries, green energy to charge the batteries, and electric operations fleet — the e-scooter only emits 42.8 gCO2/pkm which is over 70 per cent less than what a private car emits. He added that the ES400C new model was tested by SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services under an extreme cold and hot/humid simulation environment with temperatures ranging from -25°C to 70°C with 93 per cent humidity level. In addition, the company conducted heat tests throughout the summer in the UAE, where all of the components were put on test drives to confirm that they are suitable for the peak temperatures in Dubai.

Compliance with government requirements and regulations

TIER’s strategic approach is to create long-term partnerships with the cities it operates in to jointly develop a safe and smooth soft mobility environment within the urban areas.The local team collaborates very closely with the RTA in Dubai and regulators in other cities to ensure compliance with government requirements and regulations and to manag infrastructure and street users’ safety. TIER is currently piloting vision-enabled AI solutions that enable traffic monitoring and ensure infrastructure quality by reporting back to the city officials with a wealth of data for planning and development purposes.