“It’s in reference to the fable of Jean de la Fontaine,” says Robin Bourraindeloup, to explain “Turtle”, the name of the start-up he co-created in Paris, with Aymard de Ravignan. In the story, there is no doubt, “we are not the hare, we will not go at 100 km/h,” continues Robin, 27, while pedaling rue de Rivoli. On the other hand, we go everywhere and, on the cycle paths, we don’t experience traffic jams. »
Turtle makes this promise: in Paris, compared to taxis and VTCs, it is often their tricycles the fastest.. The cheapest too*. From five in October 2022, for the launch, there are now 20 who crisscross Paris, leaving each morning from their headquarters in an underground car park at Pyramide.
“Uber” style bike taxis on demand
Pay attention to them and you will eventually see them in the capital. They are recognizable: tricycles with electric assistants that their drivers drive in a semi-recumbent position and who tow behind them a cabin where up to two adults or even a child can fit, squeezing a little on the seat. And at their feet some luggage. Everything has been in autumn/winter dressing for a few days, with Plexiglas panels which protect the passengers from the rain and the cold, without taking anything away from the City of Lights as it passes by.
On the one hand, Robin and Aymard didn’t invent anything. Just picked up the concept of “rickshaw” that they have declined to electric mobility. With the idea, however, that these bike taxis can be booked as easily as a car with a driver, “Uber” style. In short: we don’t hail a Turtle, “but we order it, at least an hour in advance, via a smartphone application available on the Apple Store or Google Play,” explains Robin Bourraindeloup.
Don’t plan to catch your flight in Turtle. “During the Rugby World Cup, we push to the Stade de France, but otherwise we generally stay in intramuros Paris,” continues Robin, well aware that his bike taxis are losing their relevance compared to the four-wheeled hares, more the distance lengthens.
13,000 trips made, 120,000 km covered
No problem listening to it. “We don’t see ourselves as a direct competitor to taxis and VTC companies,” he points out. We provide much more of a complement by specializing in short distances which they often refuse to do, because they are not very profitable for them. » In this niche, Turtle still offers itself a nice playground. The proof: in one year, the young shoot has made 13,000 journeys, for 120,000 km traveled, or approximately three times around the Earth . All for 25 tonnes of CO2 equivalent avoided. Broadly speaking, customers are of two types. “For 50%, these are Parisians who just want to be transported from point A to point B, quickly, economically and with the aim of having the lowest possible carbon footprint,” begins Robin, who describes driving regularly. customers at work or pick up children from home on Wednesdays to take them to sports. The remaining 50% are tourists who still want to take advantage of trips that cannot be made on foot to visit Paris. At the pace of a turtle (with peaks of nearly 25 km/h all the same) and with their glass cabin offering a 180° panorama, the Turtles allow you to fully enjoy the landscape.
Turtle still has to reach profitability. The start-up is not there yet and has not taken the easiest path to get there. “We didn’t want to be just a platform for connecting customers and self-employed drivers,” explains Robin. We try as much as possible to go through employment which better corresponds to our values. We currently have 24 in the structure even if, at our stage of development, we are currently mainly on one-year fixed-term contracts. »
“Making soft mobility inclusive”
But Turtle quickly hopes to have stronger backs, convinced that on-demand bike taxis are in tune with the times… Robin Bourraindeloup does not only cite the imperative to decarbonize transport, the leading sector emitting greenhouse gases in France, and all that follows: the progressive establishment of Low Emission Zones (ZFE), the pedestrianization of hypercenters [même à Paris avant les JO2024 ?], the growth of cycle paths… “In this transition, there is often an element that is put aside,” he points out. A part of the population, much larger than we imagine, does not want to or cannot ride a bicycle. Because they are afraid of driving in town, because they have a physical disability, because they do not consider themselves physically fit enough…”
It is this inclusive soft mobility that Turtle wants to enable. “Little by little, we are developing our offer,” continues Robin Bourraindeloup. We now offer walks in Paris with audio guides. We also do events by allowing companies and exhibition organizers to privatize our tricycles for their events…” And for regular customers, the application also now allows you to purchase usage credits in advance, at a discounted price. reduced, as regularly offered by self-service mobility operators. But to scale up and hope to be profitable, Turtle will also have no other choice than to significantly increase its fleet of tricycles, if only to improve its network in Paris. “The goal is to have 100 by next summer and the Olympics,” says Robin Bourraindeloup, who will have to complete fundraising beforehand.
Marcel also launches
Not easy, as Turtle is starting to have competitors in this niche of on-demand rickshaws. Marcel, VTC platform, launched its bike taxi service with Cyclolab at the start of the school year. “Very good news”, comments Robin who also cites his “friends” fromHappyMoov, “who have been developing bicycle taxis in Lille for several years”. “We’re not the only ones to believe in it, it’s all going in the right direction,” he says, letting us go in the middle of Paris. A new race should not take long.