As a scooter enthusiast, I was very excited to learn about La Galoche, a new French company building an innovative kick scooter, or trotinette, for daily commuting. The founders spent hours brainstorming product ideas with the aim of tackling some of the earth’s most difficult challenges: global warming, unhappiness, and obesity. They all agreed on the kick scooter as the logical answer. As a daily kick scooter rider myself, I couldn’t agree more. Their ambition is to create a scooter that is more elegant, high-tech and functional than the typical adult scooter. Some of the scooter’s unique features include: a built in light, hand and foot breaks, a carrying handle, and a mobile app that gives navigation instructions, tracks calories and distance.

The company is part of an incubator (Transalley) based in Valenciennes (northern part of France) focused on transportation / mobility start-ups. In March 2016, they won first place in a mobility start-up competition with their prototype. They are now looking for manufacturers in Northern France. Best of luck to the La Galoche team during the production stage. I can’t wait to test drive their scooter next time I am in France.