They say that time flies while having fun…the team of Flytz can confirm that. After three months, 300 happy students and more than 12.000 booked trips in the Moves app, our first pilot in collaboration with Moves, the Municipality of Rotterdam and Zuid-Holland Bereikbaar is a wrap! Curious how we experienced our first pilot? Keep on reading!

In the summer of 2020, the idea of Flytz was born after former friends and founders of Flytz grabbed a quick beer and discussed their common irritations regarding mobility for students. Where some parts of the mobility landscape had changed significantly, like the founders’ and their friends’ travel preferences, other areas have not evolved for more than 30 years. One of the areas which did not change at all was the Student Travel Facility (STF). Every Dutch student in the Netherlands receives a travel product that enables them to use public transport for free during the weekend or throughout the week. However, the facility did not include any shared (sustainable) mobility services, while students started using these more often. Furthermore, many students reported switching to the use of a private car almost directly after graduation. There was no loyalty to public transport at all, whereas frequent public transport use is key to developing sustainable and livable cities. A pitiful waste, if you ask the founders of Flytz: various studies from, amongst others, the Technical University of Delft, show that the more extensive the supply of mobility services is, the higher the likelihood that someone will leave their private car behind. If students are given the opportunity to use a product that fits their mobility demand as a whole, they can fully explore the benefits of shared mobility. This can lead them to delay the purchase of a first private car after their studies.

After almost 1,5 years of preparation and more than 4000 applications to participate, the first pilot of Flytz was finally launched in Rotterdam in collaboration with the local municipality and Moves on April 19th. We were happy to introduce our concept to the 300 selected participants! These students stopped using their STF for a period of three months. In return, they received a monthly budget to use both public transport and shared mobility services for three months through a Mobility-as-a-Service app. Next to the regular trains, trams and buses, students could also use shared e-mopeds, bikes and cars.

Not only our pilot participants were curious about the concept of Flytz: our launch was picked up by various national and local media outlets such as Nu.nl, De Ondernemer, Silicon Canals and Erasmus Magazine. We even got the opportunity to pitch our company and talk about the launch on the radio at BNR ZakenDoen! The launch week was something that the Flytz team will never forget.

The first results of the pilot show that students are enjoying this new way of traveling. It allows students to use multiple modes of transportation based on their preferences. Another interesting result is that students experience more freedom of choice: participants report that they often combine public transport and shared mobility services. For instance, when traveling to class, a student uses a shared bike to go to the metro instead of the bus, which arrives only twice per hour. 

You could say we are a bit obsessed with our target group; although our first pilot was a great success, we are absolutely not finished learning about students’ travel experiences. After receiving more than 4000 applications for our first pilot, we realized that there were far more people from different areas and backgrounds that wanted to engage with this new way of using mobility. That’s why we decided to open up for all students: international students, students who do not use their STF, students who love to use shared mobility services. We realize we can add more value in this way than only looking at Dutch students with an STF: our mobility solution optimizes the travel experience of students and offers one simple way of getting introduced to all modes of transportation without a hassle.

From September onwards, we deliver the best mobility solution possible for every student in the Netherlands. In case you would like to use Flytz: please sign up here. We will provide you with a personal onboarding and ensure your mobility needs are perfectly met by Flytz! 

Join the movement!

Team Flytz

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