Zag Daily

Rabbit Mobility nets $1.3 million to expand its micromobility platform across North Africa. The Egypt-based operator has grown considerably over the past couple of years with over 450,000 users completing over one million rides. This surge in popularity reflects the increasing demand for sustainable and efficient transportation options in the region. “We’re interested in expanding to other North African markets starting with Morocco,” Kamal ElSoueni, Co-founder and CEO of Rabbit Mobility, told Zag Daily. “We believe the Moroccan market is similar to the Egyptian market where cities have high population densities, high traffic congestion and are not exposed to severe weather. Our plan is to deploy our first fleet in Morocco in 2025.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/e7PERFmP

Skyports Infrastructure, SEA Milan Airports and 2i Aeroporti have partnered to build air taxi infrastructure in Milan. The joint venture company - Vertical Gateway (VEGA) - will establish vertiport infrastructure to enable air taxi routes between Central Milan and Malpensa Airport, before scaling across Lombardy and potentially other Italian regions. “Lombardy is Italy’s most densely populated and congested region,” VEGA CEO Paolo Cappello told Zag Daily. “Home to approximately a sixth of Italy’s population, many of whom live in Milan which is Italy’s business and industrial capital and an important tourist destination, a robust transport network is essential.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/g6Nkc3DF

In today's newsletter we're covering the EU cities awarded for their climate efforts, plus MOSA’s bike share solution for underserved communities and how to get the public on board with advanced air mobility. Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/eid8KXUt

9 in 10 Brits fear urban cycling, according to a Swapfiets survey of 2000 respondents. To combat cycling fears, Swapfiets is urging the UK government to increase its active travel investment in the October budget. “We want to get the sum to what was originally promised for active travel - £200 million - or as close to this as possible,” Swapfiets’ UK Country Manager Rory MacPhee told Zag Daily. “This was an accurate projection of what the works would cost for new cycle routes and infrastructure improvement - as well as funds for educating the nation on sustainable forms of travel and urban cycling.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eDeiRbyd

How can Advanced Air Mobility earn the public’s trust? In #18 of Zag’s Women Making Moves series, we speak with the Advanced Air Mobility Institute’s Vice President of Business Intelligence Patricia Nagata Hamza. Patricia says the Advanced Air Mobility industry must prove the safety of its technologies if it wants to get the public on board. “Credibility is a very important asset if OEMs want people to start using their product. When it comes to something as critical as aviation, and especially new technologies, people need to be confident that the vehicle is safe and reliable before they consider using it. And credibility is built through consistent quality, safety performance, and transparency.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/ere35c_D

The European Commission has awarded 20 cities with the EU Mission Label for their efforts on reaching climate neutrality by 2030. The most frequently mentioned actions and policies on transport from the winning cities include the reduction of emissions from private cars, the promotion of active travel, and smart mobility solutions. “In total, 53 out of the 112 cities that participate in the Mission have by now received the EU Mission Label. The Label is an important milestone in the cities' work. It acknowledges the successful development of Climate City Contracts, which outline the cities' overall vision for climate neutrality and contain an action plan as well as an investment plan,” a European Commission Spokesperson told Zag Daily. Read who the winning cities are: https://lnkd.in/ggBz-n8e  

Altitude Angel has partnered with Historic Environment Scotland to grant drones access to 200 historic Scottish sites. The initiative lets professional and recreational drone users capture aerial footage of notable sites such as Edinburgh Castle. “If you’re coming from abroad and have the opportunity to fly over a historic site with no people around in the golden hour of the morning, that’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Altitude Angel Head of Corporate Communications Stephen Farmer told Zag Daily. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ddFR2Rmu

REGENT has entered the next phase of development for its full-scale seaglider prototype. The ‘Viceroy’ 12-passenger seaglider operates above water in three modes. In “Float” mode it floats on its hull. In “Foil” mode it rises above water on hydrofoils, and in “Fly” mode it can fly above water on a cushion of air. “Seagliders offer faster speeds and smoother passenger experiences than sea vessels thanks to their three modes of operation,” Regent Co-Founder Michael Klinker told Zag Daily. “Flying in “ground effect” increases aerodynamic efficiency, allowing the Viceroy seaglider to travel at speeds up to 180 miles per hour for up to 180 miles, offering a further range than eVTOLs and low operation and maintenance costs to increase their accessibility.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eAgdg8ph

We recently held our second Zag Live event which focused on finding the sweet spot for shared micromobility regulation, co-hosted with our friends Bolt at their London office. Here’s a flashback of the key moments:

skeyes and subsidiary SkeyDrone hosted a demonstration for Belgian police to showcase how real-time drone detection can improve police operations. The demonstration covered flight authorisations, illegal flight detection, and intervention measures against unauthorised flights. A key focus was the Belgium-Netherlands U-space Reference Design Implementation (BURDI) project which aims to establish Europe’s first operational U-space area for economic drone applications. “By 2026, we expect the Port of Antwerp to have an operational U-space with potential for further expansion across Belgium and Europe,” skeyes Spokesperson Kurt Verwilligen told Zag Daily. Read more: https://lnkd.in/egk-nEe2