An electric ridesharing start-up that plans monthly subscriptions for Canadian apartment and condominium dwellers has received a million-dollar investment from three of the country’s six Low-Carbon Communities Canada (LC3) centres.
Kite Mobility announced the investment in its “mobility as an amenity” service, part of a larger round of strategic investment, alongside The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, and the Greater Montreal Climate Fund (FCGM), TAF says in a release.
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The service “offers electric vehicles, including electric cars, e-bikes, and e-scooters for rent or monthly subscription within a centralized sharing platform located directly in multi-family buildings,” TAF writes. “Kite’s mobility-sharing solution can displace up to 10 parking spots per shared electric vehicle, allowing building developers to save millions in capital costs and ultimately improve housing affordability for residents.”
TAF says underground parking is one of the most carbon-intensive aspects of new construction and adds an average C$100,000 per stall to the cost of a building.
“TAF is supporting this innovative and proven business model for its significant potential to scale and tackle transportation emissions in cities across Canada,” said Kristian Knibutat, TAF’s vice president of impact investing, adding that this was TAF’s first coordinated investment with other LC3 centres.
Kite Mobility offers “a market-based solution that can provide electric vehicle and e-bike ride share services for the multi-unit residents of Calgary and Edmonton,” said Rod Ruff, acting executive director at Alberta Ecotrust.
FCGM General Director Vincent Moreau said the service will reduce Greater Montreal’s climate pollution by an estimated 74,000 tonnes over 20 years.
Kite Mobility founder Scott Macwilliam said the investment will help the company improve access to “affordable, sustainable transportation, carbon reduction, affordable housing, and decongestion within our cities.”
[Disclosure: Energy Mix Productions supplies editorial and communications services to two of the six LC3 centres, TAF and the Ottawa Climate Action Fund.]
