Helbiz CEO Salvatore Palella. Photo credit: Helbiz

Helbiz, a New York City-based shared e-scooter company, has debuted the first-ever electric-scooter fleet in the Italian city of Rome, having been able to do so thanks to a formal partnership with the city. Helbiz will be launching a fleet of 1,000 shared e-scooters in Rome, which will add to the company’s already existing fleet of 2,500 shared electric-bikes in the same city. The city of Rome has permitted shared electric bikes but not e-scooters up until this point. To use the e-scooters, Helbiz will charge customers its usual price of 1€ for the initial unlocking + 0.15€ for each minute of a ride. The company also offers a monthly subscription option that lets users unlimitedly ride its e-scooters or e-bikes provided the ride time is under or equal to 30 minutes.

Currently, Helbiz operates its shared e-bike and e-scooter services in more than 20 cities globally. The cities include Milan, Rome, Washington DC, Alexandria, Arlington, and Miami. Although based out of New York, Helbiz has no shared mobility service present there. In all, the company operates in only five countries, being France, Spain, Italy, Serbia, and the U.S.

Helbiz’s e-scooter debut in Rome was witnessed by the city’s Mayor, Virginia Raggi. Helbiz co-hosted a press conference alongside the Mayor to celebrate its debut.