They are in the courtyard, the chic black and gray e-bikes from the promising Berlin mobility startup Dance. No rain, but not too hot either: it’s a good day for a drive. During our visit to Dance in the Maschinenraum in Berlin-Mitte, an ecosystem for medium-sized companies, we were able to get to know the wheels of the young company better and also how Dance’s subscription system came about. The US company Apple played a significant role in this, because all of the startup’s applications are based on its Swift programming language.
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Dance wants to make cities more livable
During the test drive through Berlin-Mitte, the e-bikes proved to be pleasant and reliable. This also shows how digitally networked the vehicles are. A separate smartphone holder on the handlebars makes it possible to use the iPhone as a navigation device, for example. The service of the young company can also be requested at any time via the app. Since it was founded in early 2020, Dance has made a name for itself with its e-bikes and e-mopeds, which in addition to Berlin are now also available in Hamburg, Munich, Paris and since last year also in Vienna for a monthly subscription price. A year ago, the young company also made a name for itself with financing of an impressive 20 million euros (we reported). According to co-founder and CEO Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss, one goal is paramount: making cities more liveable.
“The idea for Dance came about just days before the pandemic broke out. We wanted to help shape sustainable cities that are built for people and not for cars. A lot has happened since then and we have been able to ride the wave of success of the new mobility offers. Our e-bikes are designed to accelerate the mobility transition in cities. Durability and reliability are what count here. Not only is Apple still a real inspiration for us today. We also use applications that we have developed with Swift in all respects. The platform gives us the flexibility and innovation we need to grow quickly,” says Quidenus-Wahlforss.
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“We quickly noticed the passion and the great company culture of Dance and we could identify with it very strongly ourselves,” said Susan Prescott, Vice President of Product Marketing at Apple, who was also a guest in Berlin. Using Swift, Dance built two apps for specific workflows. The first is the app for customers, helping them connect to their e-bike to track their rides, manage their account, book repairs and contact the company directly. The second app, “Taranis”, helps the team manage their growing inventory of e-bikes.
With the app, customers can order an e-bike or e-moped for their location. The company then delivers the vehicles in electrically powered vans. Customers can also request various services via an app, including a repair service. This is exactly where the first use case for Swift apps took place. Dance wanted to use its own iOS app early on, which would allow the specialists to see the necessary information about damaged bikes and mopeds on their cell phones, such as the location or the damage.
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Swift tools are used at every level
Since then, Dance has built its entire digital infrastructure with Swift. All of our teams use Apple devices and the Taranis app. “This does not only apply to our offices. The mechanics who develop our devices use an iPad in the workshop to keep track of their orders. At the same time, our suppliers use their iPhone to keep an eye on the orders. We handle our entire process, from production to delivery and maintenance of the vehicles, with the Swift tools we programmed ourselves,” explains Caterina Kiehntopf, Head of Operations at Dance in Berlin.
For customers, this highly networked system should bring more efficiency, shorter waiting times and a better overall experience. In this way, they can easily have a vehicle delivered to the desired location and tell the service in advance exactly where there are defects. In the future, the vehicles should also become even more theft-proof. So it could soon be possible to report the bikes and mopeds and then switch them off remotely or make them no longer usable. The companions already have Bluetooth locks that can only be opened with the Dance app.
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Apple wants to make coding a “lingua franca”.
“This system looks very simple in the frontend, but it is a very complex process in the backend. For us, Swift was the natural choice for development. It is an easy-to-learn, beginner-friendly programming language that makes it possible to develop secure applications. Thanks to Swift, our system continues to evolve and will become much more efficient in the years to come,” said Bella Wu, Product & Growth Lead at Dance.
Apple itself wants to use its programming language not only to enable companies, but also private individuals to enter the world of programming. This also seems to work well: “I learned Swift in just a few weeks and developed the app in a few months,” says Nynke de Boer, app developer at Dance. “Our programming language has a simple entry point, but it can reach any level. At Apple, we want to establish Swift as a learning tool for children. Coding is an international ‘lingua franca’ that we want to make available to as many people as possible. That’s why Swift is free,” said Susan Prescott of Apple.
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Dance plans expansion into new cities
In the future, Dance not only wants to expand its apps, but also open up hundreds of new cities as markets. Paris is still considered the most important market today because the city policy there is very bicycle-friendly. Although a controversial ban on e-scooters is planned for September 1, e-bikes are being massively promoted. Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss therefore sees Paris as the “new Amsterdam”. Speaking of Amsterdam: the Dutch cycling metropolis could be one of the startup’s next destinations. Cities in the USA can also be imagined as destinations for the young company.
Another major goal of the young company is the expansion of sustainability. In the future, the Swift apps should increase efficiency even further, so that an e-van can complete as many deliveries as possible in one trip. At the same time, the company is working on recycling components, such as those made of aluminum. They are also working with a partner company to give the e-bike batteries, which usually last five years, a second life.