Taxi and mobility app FREE NOW expands into Greece
Updated: Oct 12, 2022
European mobility app FREE NOW is expanding its geographic reach to provide travel in two of the biggest Greek cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, by bringing the number one taxi app BEAT of Greece to the FREE NOW platform.
BEAT was originally founded in 2011 and had been part of the FREE NOW Group, the ride-hailing joint venture between BMW and Mercedes-Benz Group, since 2017 but had kept its own brand and platform. FREE NOW will retain the strengths that have made BEAT so successful in Greece while further expanding the offering with new services under the FREE NOW brand.
Upon launch, FREE NOW passengers will be able to use the same familiar multi-mobility services in ten countries in Europe: the complete footprint covers Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Poland, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and now Greece – users need only one app to move from A to B. From now on, especially in the cities Athens and Thessaloniki, there will be more modes of transportation available than before – including more options to travel via the FREE NOW app with three new fleet taxi types: Standard, Comfort and ECO. For the first time ever, users in Greece will also be able to book eBikes alongside taxis due to the in app integration with Europe’s leading micro-mobility eBike provider RideMovi.
In addition, BEAT’s taxi drivers will benefit from being on the FREE NOW platform, as they will see an influx of cross border traffic to the app from all over Europe, providing them with even further opportunities to increase their income.
Aspa Topalidou, General Manager of Greece at FREE NOW, said: “We are delighted to announce this key milestone and welcome the FREE NOW brand in Greece. The rebrand marks a pivotal step towards offering a variety of different services within one app to maintain and continue to grow our customer and driver base, allowing Greece to be part of Europe’s Mobility Super App. Whilst taxis will always play a crucial role in our offering, we strongly believe that we will need to have further mobility options and to move towards a multimodal future which can be achieved with FREE NOW. We look forward to fulfilling our mission to transform mobility while working with the same team of BEAT employees and keeping the largest driver network here in Greece.”
Thomas Zimmermann, CEO of FREE NOW, said: “FREE NOW is the only Mobility-as-a-Service platform which aggregates numerous mobility brands and vehicle options to make them seamlessly bookable across Europe within one app. We are extremely proud of the progress we have made so far and making our service now also available in Greece. Merging BEAT with FREE NOW in Greece is an important step for us, and one that plays into our vision of having one Mobility Super App for all European markets. While BEAT is a brand that has great value in Greece, having one app for passengers across Europe brings many new possibilities."
