In highly populated European cities, electric scooter and electric bicycle sharing have become an integral part of the mobility sector. A lot of people leverage these last-mile mobility solutions to get around the city without the need of taking public transportation, or using their personal vehicles. Needless to say, ride-sharing services are practical, affordable, and convenient.
While these are already ubiquitous in metropolitan areas, in peri-urban areas, getting around without a car or personal vehicle can be quite challenging. This is where Fredo enters the equation. Fredo is a French startup that hopes to bring the mobility of bike-sharing to the suburbs of France. It works in a similar fashion as mainstream players such as Lime and Dott, but sweetens the deal with a wider selection of two-wheelers to choose from.
Fredo was developed two years ago with the intention of deploying shared bicycle fleets in peri-urban regions. In order to do this, the start-up has made utilization simpler by doing away with electrical connectors and stations. Instead, Fredo bikes are simply secured to permanent arches using connected padlocks that can be unlocked via a smartphone app. The fleet can be controlled by administrators thanks to its connection to a management platform.
Furthermore, Fredo doesn’t limit its selection of bikes to mere commuter electric bicycles. Depending on the needs of riders at any given time, they can rent a standard bicycle, electric bike, cargo e-bike, and even recycled bikes, all of which, of course, subject to availability.
The brains behind the startup are Thomas Randolph and Théo Roussely, of the Groupama Rhône-Alpes company. Having grown up in the smaller towns surrounding Paris, as well as in the north of France, they were well acquainted with the challenges of getting around without a car in the suburbs. The idea for the business came together quickly, and the two coworkers joined forces to form Fredo, which was founded in 2021 with funding from Groupama for its start-up and acceleration phases as well as from BPIFrance and the Réseau Entreprendre Rhône.
