Stib calls time on failed mobility app Floya

Brussels public transport operator Stib will stop supporting the multimodal transport app Floya on 31 December, after just three years.

While Stib officially cites the forthcoming ban on shared scooters as the reason for this, the cost of the app is also a factor.

“The decision is in line with the changed context, characterised by the ban on shared scooters in the Brussels region from 2027 and the current budgetary reality,” the company announced.

“Stib will keep users informed and support them during and after the phasing out of the app.”

The app, which was intended to bring together virtually all alternatives to the car in a single, user-friendly app, was launched as a pilot project in September 2023 in collaboration with Brussels Mobility.

“Stib wanted to use the app to gain experience with a digital platform that brings together various transport providers and makes it easier to use alternatives to private cars,” said the operator.

The app was controversial from its inception due to the high cost of the project, especially considering Stib already has its own app.

Mobility minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) recently said Floya has cost €6 million for the period up to the end of 2024 and currently requires 12 staff members to run it. Van den Brandt had previously spoken of €14 million in development, maintenance and licence costs, spread over eight years.

Stib defended the expensive three-year experiment by saying it offered insights into “passengers’ needs, integrated mobility, digital services and collaboration with various mobility partners” that “enabled Stib to learn how people use multimodal transport in their daily journeys”.

Stib said that these insights would be used to further improve their digital services “with a particular focus on real-time passenger information, ease of use and the integration of other mobility services”, for example for the development of the new Stib app.

Floya has been downloaded 433,416 times since its launch on 6 September 2023 and averaged 33,600 active users per month - compared to 350,000 for the less expensive Stib app - who searched for a route a total of almost 23 million times.

“The figures show that Floya achieved a stable user base,” Stib said.

“Although Floya achieved this quickly, the number of active users subsequently failed to rise sufficiently to sustain the project in the long term.”

The transport operator cites “the changing context surrounding the kilometre charge (the SmartMove project) and the reduced number of shared scooter and bike providers” as the reason for this, but said the upcoming ban on shared scooters made the app considerably less attractive.

“Shared scooters currently form a significant part of the mobility solutions in the app, alongside public transport, shared bikes, taxis and car-sharing,” said Stib.

“Due to this development, combined with the cost-saving measures required of Brussels’ public authorities, we decided to wind up the project by the end of 2026.”

As well as shared scooters, Floya offers 10 other modes of transport. In addition to public transport operated by Stib, SNCB, De Lijn and TEC, the app also integrates shared bikes and scooters from Bolt, Dott, Voi and Villo!, plus car-sharing services from Poppy and the taxi service Taxis Verts. Floya also guides users to Cambio (car-sharing) stations and drop-off zones for shared scooters and bikes.

Floya will remain available until 31 December 2026, “although it is possible that certain products or features may be phased out gradually as the end date approaches”. In the meantime, it seems as though the app will be little missed.

“The Brussels authorities did not give sufficient thought to what they wanted to achieve with Floya. As a result, the investment was a waste of money,” said Koen Van de Putte, CEO of Olympus Mobility, who was closely involved in the planning and tendering processes leading up to Floya.

“In my view, there are two possible business models, but Brussels hasn’t properly developed either of them. You, as a government, either aim for an app that generates a financial return, or accept that the app is structurally loss-making and is therefore an expense, but then there must be a corresponding social added value. However, I have never been able to clearly identify exactly what that added value is.”

Van de Putte suspects the app’s overall failure and not the imminent end of shared scooters is the real reason for Floya’s closure: “The Brussels government announced that a new shared-bike scheme is being introduced as a replacement, so the phasing out of shared scooters cannot have been the decisive factor.”