No more passing trends but changes that come to stay in order to define the panorama of the near future: sustainable mobility and alternative means of transport – above all, bicycles – are increasingly imposing themselves in the public space thanks to the acceleration provoked by the pandemic and its consequences. Since half of the daily trips take place within a distance of eight kilometres, rethinking the way one moves, especially in urban centres on short journeys, has become a primary requirement not only for individual citizens but also for companies active in the sector and interested in having a leading role in the so-called micro-mobility, with particular attention to the world of two wheels.
In meeting the demand for sustainable transport, Pirelli has launched a service dedicated to alternative mobility. CYCL-e around™ was born in 2019 as a sharing service of Pirelli's pedal-assisted bicycles for private communities. The growth prospects and the interest of users in this type of transport, in fact, have prompted the company to seek a business model related to micro-mobility services in line with its image and positioning of the brand. As Francesco Bruno, Head of Micro-mobility Solutions of the brand, points out, 'CYCL-e around™ is much more than just a sharing platform. It is a complete offer that is addressed to well-defined communities with precise needs'. The Pirelli e-bike fleet is available to hotels and companies that decide to adopt this solution for their guests and employees. In addition to the individual means of transport, the company prepares for its users a special application for booking the service and in the case of hotels, the possibility of suggesting itineraries that would allow to discover the neighbourhoods, including regular maintenance interventions.
'CYCL-e around™ allows us to dialogue with many different actors in the sustainable mobility chain: from most suitable maintenance partners to developers of innovative digital platforms; we constantly interact with mobility managers, sustainability experts and HR figures in charge of the companies' welfare that have chosen our service'. Therefore, a network of important stakeholders, who can integrate Pirelli's sharing program, is being developed around this service. Borgo San Felice, Il Falconiere, the Villaggi ANTS and the branches of the Horizon group: these are some of the hotels that have chosen Pirelli's e-bikes CYCL-e around™. On the other hand, Aon, Electrolux, NTT Data and Open Fiber are some of the companies with which Pirelli collaborates in this initiative.
The main objective of the project, which promotes alternative mobility as a complementary to the traditional one, is to create conditions for access to easier sustainable means of transport, allowing consumers to test this solution safely, relying on the expertise guaranteed by the Pirelli brand. 'Every day we are confronted with people who pay more and more attention on ways to protect the environment by their strategic choices': the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, therefore, seem to have reached a visible, quantifiable dimension and can be translated into concrete choices. According to the European Cyclists' Federation, the use of bicycles would easily contribute to the achievement of the objective number three related to the improvement of individual physical well-being and of the objective number fifteen on quality of life: the service CYCL-e around™ by intertwining health and sustainability fits perfectly into the international agenda, confirming Pirelli's ability to interpret and translate current trends into lasting opportunities.
With regards to the future, the objective is to widen the pool of users of CYCL-e around™, internationalizing our offer beyond the Italian market and expanding it to university campuses: 'Through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which sees us as protagonists of certain design initiatives, we have an opportunity to get in touch with the world of Italian universities. An interesting challenge awaits us. We should adapt our services to an audience sensitive to the topic, whose needs are different from those encountered so far'.
