VodafoneZiggo's cable technicians zip around cities on electric scooters

Talk of improving last-mile logistics usually focuses on shipping. But the need to reach a customer's front door isn't limited to delivery companies. Another business trying to solve the challenges of moving through cities — traffic jams, parking woes, environmental impact — is Dutch telecoms operator VodafoneZiggo.

Instead of having cable technicians navigate city streets on four wheels, Ziggo is trialing electric kick scooters, which techs will use in combination with vans. They'll park outside a city and travel the last distance by hopping on a StapStep, the only electric scooter that's currently street legal in the Netherlands. Chargers installed in the vans will recharge scooters overnight.

The idea was conceived by technicians who were fed up with spending more time trying to find parking spots than doing actual cable maintenance. Ziggo is trialing last-mile e-scooters in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Apeldoorn, Lelystad and Maastricht. If the pilot is successful, rollout to other cities will follow.