Car sharing services are more and more popular in Hungary. We now also have scooter sharing!
In the past year, 2 companies, GreenGo and MOL Limo, have made their cars (electric and petrol) available in more and more areas of Budapest. It’s practical and usually cheaper to get a car through those services instead of a taxi. Once you’ve installed their apps on your phone and added your driving license and credit card, you’re ready to go. The service is really easy to use for everyone.
There is still a catch though; in a city like Budapest, traveling by car usually means sitting in a traffic jam. That’s not great when you pay for your car by the minute.
That’s where blinkee.city comes in. This new service works just like the car sharing services, but with electric scooters!
- It’s cheap.
- You can use the bus lanes (you can’t when using a car, even an electric one).
- You can squeeze yourself between cars quite easily; forget the traffic jams!
- The little electric beasts are responsive! While you can’t really go faster than 50 km/h (you don’t really need more in the city), you’ll be the first out of the blocks at traffic lights!
I gave it a try this morning and it was interesting. It took me a few minutes to feel comfortable with it, move around and between cars instead of just waiting, and really enjoy the ride. I suspect I would need to take a few more trips to be really comfortable in all situations. I am not used to riding motorbikes or scooters though, so that’s to be expected.
The app makes it easy to unlock and start the engine by tapping a single button. In fact it was so easy it confused me at first; I was looking for a way to start the scooter, not knowing it was already on! Electric FTW!
Here is the thing, though: while the scooter is electric, quiet, clean, most of the cars around me were just the opposite. I don’t think I’ll make it a habit to ride a scooter in town, as I don’t really enjoy diesel fumes. I’ll keep riding the tram / bus / subway. :)
I may still take advantage of the scooter option from time to time: it is often faster than a car and public transportation! 🛵