ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab and rail and coach operator RegioJet are collaborating as part of an all-embracing partnership. By cleverly cross-linking their services, they are enabling their customers in the Czech Republic to travel from door to door with ease at any time, without needing to own a car. For journeys from their homes to a coach or train station, or from there on to their destination, RegioJet customers can now hire a BeRider eScooter and/or a vehicle from the HoppyGo peer-to-peer car-sharing service.
Imagine taking an electric scooter to the coach or train station, then hopping on a coach or train to head to another city and from there renting a shared car for the last mile to your final destination. This is exactly what the collaboration between ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab and rail and coach operator RegioJet will make a reality – quickly and conveniently using just one app.
Jarmila Plachá, Head of ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab, said, “ŠKODA AUTO is transforming from a car manufacturer into the Simply Clever company for the best mobility solutions. The partnership with RegioJet is an important milestone in this development: it gives us the chance to leverage numerous synergies here and make individual mobility even more advanced. This collaboration is also putting the customer first in terms of the services we offer, precisely tailoring them to suit the needs of the users and making their everyday lives easier.”
The aim of the partnership is to provide practical mobility services for the first and last mile: users should be able to conveniently reach any destination, and cleverly as well as easily combine various modes of transport when planning their journey.
First of all, RegioJet and the use of the BeRider eScooter-sharing service have been linked. When purchasing a RegioJet coach or train ticket, customers can register for ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab’s eScooter-sharing service. Following confirmation, they will be emailed a code which entitles them to use the city scooters free of charge for 60 minutes. BeRider has just started its second season in Prague and the number of users is growing: the eScooters have already covered a total of over 500,000 km and, to date, 80,000 people have downloaded the app.
RegioJet and ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab have then incorporated the HoppyGo private peer-to-peer car-sharing service in a similar way. Newly registered HoppyGo users receive a 500-koruna credit for travelling with RegioJet that they can use to rent a car. Customers can, for example, make their way to the station using a shared car, park it there in a planned allocated space and continue their journey by coach or train.
But that’s not all: ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab intends to go a step further and include the RegioJet lines in its Prague multi-modal Citymove mobility app. Using the app, customers have access to a clever mix of mobility options, such as BeRider eScooters, buses, trams, the metro, rental bikes, taxis and ride-hailing cars. Users can select, book and pay for the means of transport that give them the best connections to any destination at any time. BeRider and HoppyGo are already included in the app’s mobility options. It will soon also be possible to book RegioJet tickets directly in the app.
The partnership is ideal for anyone who does not own a car themselves, but who still wishes to be fully mobile – giving them easy access to an extensive range of individual mobility options.
By developing digital solutions and an ecosystem for mobility services, ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab is supporting both ŠKODA AUTO’s transformation into the Simply Clever company for the best mobility solutions, and the carmaker’s core business.
RegioJet is one of the largest private rail operators in Europe and also has a strong position in the market for scheduled coach travel. The Brno-based company is experiencing particularly strong growth in Central Europe and is continuously developing new mobility solutions.
SOURCE: ŠKODA
