Driving Sustainable Commuting: KNOT and ARVAL's Partnership

The integration of sharing services for employee use can drive the growth of the micro-mobility market. By introducing micro-mobility programs at a corporate level, companies can reap substantial benefits including reduced commute times, convenient transportation, lower car usage and parking needs, and a fun commute experience. Moreover, such programs can boost the overall uptake of sharing services in cities. This idea inspired the start of the partnership between KNOT and ARVAL headed to promote micro-mobility together.

About companies

ARVAL, is a global leader in full-service vehicle leasing and new mobility solutions, from the reduction of ecological footprints and transition to smart mobility. Across 29 countries, 8000 employees cooperate with public and private players in reducing ecological footprints, implementing mobility programs, and improving safety and fleet performance.

KNOT is a French company providing sharing micro-mobility solutions globally. At the heart of their expertise are docking & charging stations for shared scooters and bikes. KNOT offers a complete turn-key solution, including vehicles, API and user applications, for both private and public needs. Over 500 of their stations are already installed in 10 countries.

Challenge

ARVAL identified a need for vehicle-sharing systems among its clients that wanted to be sustainable in their daily operations. Docked-sharing vehicles emerged as the most sustainable solution, thanks to secured parking, automatic charging, and lower operational costs and CO2 emissions. But you could not evangelize any solution without using it on your own, right? That is why ARVAL also wanted to bring shared e-scooters to the internal teams and visitors for commuting and private usage.

Partnership

For a showcase, KNOT has installed four docking stations at various ARVAL locations, including at the Paris headquarters and in offices in Rennes and Lyon. The stations found their fans. KNOT has catalysed a surge in electric scooter usage among ARVAL employees, especially those unwilling to own personal e-scooters due to concerns like parking, theft, and battery recharge.

The employees were offered to use e-scooters free of charge during work hours and manage their trips in the white-label app ‘TrottPartage by ARVAL’, also provided by the KNOT team. The partnership has spurred a significant increase in electric vehicle usage among employees. The usage statistics show a good 3.23 uses per vehicle per day.

ARVAL’s Director of New Mobility, Julie HUYHUES-DESPOINTES, highlights, “Our partnership with KNOT aimed at extending docking systems to a broader business audience. While it fulfilled our employees’ commuting needs, it also gave us an operational model to showcase to our partners.”

Polina Mikhaylova, the co-founder of KNOT, explains, “Having shared scooters and bikes is the optimal solution for companies situated outside city centers, where public shared vehicles are scarce. We’re proud to work with ARVAL to offer an easy-to-implement micro-mobility package for corporate businesses. And I am happy that ARVAL also benefit from our services.”

ARVAL continues to promote micro-mobility across its offices and encourages internal and external partners to explore docking & sharing electric vehicles.

Docking stations have emerged as the optimal solution for private companies aiming to offer eco-efficient mobility solutions. Shared bike and scooter services not only address first and last-mile challenges but also encourage short-distance car ride replacements. While the challenge of micro-mobility is often perceived as a public issue, companies of all sizes can contribute to providing their employees with convenient, fun, and green transportation options. For both professional and private usage.