The coronavirus pandemic has irreversibly changed our lives in the last two years. It has heralded a new generation lifestyle featuring sensors and data everywhere, data analysis or artificial intelligence software, transportation, education, logistics, health and payment systems.

People’s transportation behaviors and habits are changing. More are opting for shared mobility types instead of owning a vehicle, choosing electric instead of gasoline and favoring electric skateboards instead of cars.

The concept of mobility is getting more prominent in global events. Türkiye’s first micro-mobility initiative Martı, founded four years ago by Alper Öktem and Sena Öktem, has been one of the sponsors of MOVE America, an avenue that gathers the world’s transport tech and mobility giants.

Set to go public through a merger with Galata Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company listed in New York, a deal that marks a Turkish company’s first initial public offering (IPO) via SPAC, Martı was among the initiatives that attracted attention at the event.

Martı CEO Alper Öktem said that the concept of mobility has changed behaviors in all cities, underlining that the change is a "unique revolution, similar to the transition to color television."

"Martı is not a scooter rental company. Martı is a transportation company. We believe that technology-backed mobility is a revolution as important as the generational change in telecom, as important as color television," said Öktem.

"In the cities of the future, everything will be shared and electric. The definition of technology-backed mobility is to transport people from point A to point B with technology support. We want to be in every area and everywhere of this."

Öktem stated that they represent their country in global mobility events, highlighting that they have established one of the world’s largest micro-mobility fleets in Türkiye.

"We think that in the future, vehicles will be shared and electric. We meet more investors and entrepreneurs at global events and explain ourselves. We are trying to attract more investments to Türkiye. We are focused on providing transportation solutions to people in all areas of mobility. We are trying to discover this journey that can be experienced in safer and more convenient conditions," he noted.

First in NYSE

Öktem expressed that they think Martı’s SPAC deal will set an example for initiatives from Türkiye.

"We are proud to be the first Turkish startup to receive SPAC investment and go public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). We are working on every detail to achieve this. I think we will achieve this with a young and strong team. We hope that we will inspire more startups from Türkiye to reach global financial resources," he noted.

Domestic production

Stating that technology-backed safe travel is their priority, Öktem also elaborated on the target of the indigenous rate of the vehicles they use.

"We are making all the improvements for safe travel. We aim to make 30% of the production in Türkiye in 2024. We have significant experience in the use of micro-mobility vehicles. In this regard, we have established one of the world’s most important fleets in Türkiye. We have gained significant knowledge not only on the hardware side but also on the software side. We strive to create a powerful solution in every segment from the software to the application embedded in the vehicle," he explained.

Benefiting from transformation

There are significant opportunities for startups in the rapidly transforming field of mobility. From energy to telecom, from batteries to displays, many technology startups are trying to take a leading role in the transformation. Mobility offers many new opportunities, from software to hardware.

One of Türkiye’s leading information and communication technologies companies Türk Telekom’s fiber and 5G investments have a significant impact on the efficient operation of mobility initiatives. The MOVE event held in Austin, U.S., is also striving to be one of the organizations that manage the experience sharing and relationship network in the field of mobility.

Important meetings with new brands in the field of mobility, where the enormous transformation is felt most strongly, are being held. The event focuses on relationship building at conferences rather than promoting vehicles or products. After all, all startups are trying to fill a new gap in the field of mobility. While the state of Texas is the symbol of oil, it aims to be the center of mobility transformation with such events.

Love of bicycles

Nearly 70% of respondents to the mobility ownership consumer survey conducted by the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility in July 2021 said they were willing to use micro-mobility tools for everyday commutes to work.

These findings suggest that as pandemic restrictions are lifted and offices reopen, a growing number of workers may turn to smaller and more environmentally friendly forms of transportation.

These are in line with the previous research in 2020, which suggested that micro-mobility was poised to make a strong comeback as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and people begin to travel more.

Indeed, it shows that one in every two Chinese and Italians prefers to commute by bike. After all, all vehicles have been affected by the electric transformation. Now it seems that it is the turn of the solutions on charging in the electrical infrastructure. The MOVE event opens its doors to initiatives that want to take part in this transformation.