So what is Flexy Moov? And what needs does it address?

The idea behind Flexy Moov came from a number of findings. Mobility has become a key issue within our towns and cities: pollution, congestion, public health, share of household budget, right to mobility for all, and so on. And all the while, personal vehicles stand unused 95% of the time and we waste one year of our lives looking for parking, even though 35% of parking spaces in private car parks remain vacant. There is still plenty of scope for new solutions that allow us to change our habits in favour of more sustainable and more enjoyable mobility solutions. Physical proximity, simplicity of use and flexibility are the key factors for success when it comes to developing new mobility solutions, as shown in numerous studies, and as such these are the main cornerstones of the concept. • Flexy Moov seeks to add value to empty spaces within private car parks owned by companies, local authorities, even housing developments, by offering on-demand carsharing services (bicycles, mopeds, cars, scooters – electric and high quality) via a single app. • The aim of Flexy Moov is therefore to create white label partnerships with the best players in the carsharing market by allowing customers to integrate their chosen services within a single reservation and management app that is both fun and intuitive to use. This innovative concept supports current trends towards efficient functionality, with an emphasis on usage rather than ownership. This service will, for example, allow company employees to choose the methods of transport that suit their uses and constraints, whilst retaining a high level of comfort, the local proximity that comes from service provision within their own company, and the assurance of finding a space at handover as this model will operate as a “roundtrip” model initially.

How did this project come to light, and in what way is this solution of interest to the Bouygues Group?

The Flexy Moov concept was created under the intrapreneur programme “Innovate like a startup” run by the Bouygues Group. This programme showcases innovative business solutions that involve at least two of the Group’s business lines and contribute to solving a problem within the company. Four of the Group’s business lines expressed interest, allowing the project to proceed to the testing phase: Bouygues Telecom, Bouygues Immobilier, Colas and Bouygues Construction. As well as being a means of differentiation in the context of calls for proposals, Flexy Moov could be a source of additional revenue. As a real local mobility hub, it represents the missing link in the chain for day-to-day mobility and brings “all-in-one” mobility services that are much in demand by local people.

You tested your project in Paris in early summer – what results did this give? What next steps can we hope to see?

During a two-month period, we installed a number of self-service electric scooters and bicycles within an office complex in Washington Plaza, in conjunction with a real estate company (SFL – Société Foncière Lyonnaise) looking to launch the service for its 380,000 m² of offices in Paris. An app has been developed for reservation and collection, and the results speak for themselves: 43% of people questioned thought it would be useful to have a self-service electric bicycle hire service available at their place or work or home, 72.6% of whom could see themselves using this service several times a week and 73% would use it for commuting. The comfort level of the equipment and the security aspect of having access from a private car park were highly valued by the users. This offer comes in addition to other self-service bicycle services such as Vélib, and it addresses a real need. We are now in negotiations with SFL to proceed from the testing phase to actual implementation at their site in Paris 8e, which accommodates 25 businesses and 1800 employees. In addition, a social housing provider, companies such as Nextdoor and local authorities are also following the launch of our solutions with interest, with a view to offering a new service that will prove popular with customers or users from within their own car parks. Lastly, 18 potential projects within the Group have already been qualified with Flexy Moov by word-of-mouth, at Linkcity, ELAN and Bouygues Immobilier, specifically via responses to calls for proposals. Going forward, we are waiting for commitments to invest from the different business lines within the Group that have expressed interest in launching our company-focussed solutions as early as March 2019.