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ARVOIA, A TRAVEL tech company based in Kerry, is repurposing one of its mobility apps for deliveries of food and medicines to people self-isolating in rural areas during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The existing solution matched volunteer drivers with people living in remote areas for lifts to towns or wherever they needed to go. It was free and was deployed in Clare in conjunction with Clare County Council a few months ago to address rural isolation and loneliness.
Since the Covid-19 crisis struck two weeks ago, Arvoia and the council have re-modelled the app, which is called Clare Local Lift, to specifically address people’s needs during this public health crisis.
With people indoors, there is an increased demand for delivery services. However, the majority of these services are only available in urban or suburban areas, leaving rural communities behind.
The Clare Local Lift app provides some of the technical infrastructure to bridge the gaps for people in rural communities by connecting them with volunteer drivers that can deliver groceries, medical supplies or other goods while maintaining the guidelines on social distancing.
Arvoia chief executive Mike Webster said that uptake has been good over the last week when the rejigged app was launched but the metrics are not typical when compared with most mobility apps.
“It’s a small area, it’s rural isolation so the metrics are different than a large population so it’s really helping those most vulnerable,” Webster said.
“It’s a blueprint for how services and access can be delivered in the future using cars as a network,” he added.
“The product is not one we make money on. It’s not a commercial enterprise for us, even before this crisis.”
Before the pandemic, Arvoia had discussions with other councils about deploying the transport app in their communities. The new delivery app version could be launched elsewhere but it would be “tricky”.
The infrastructure was already operational in Clare and was relatively easy to switch around.
“It could be rolled out nationwide no problem but whether that’s likely to happen in the next two weeks I wouldn’t be sure of,” Webster explained.
Travel tech
Arvoia’s main business is in the travel sector, where it builds artificial intelligence-powered products for travel and mobility firms. Travel is one of the most squeezed industries as a result of the coronavirus with the skies and roads empty.
“Every customer that we have has an 80% revenue shortfall whether it’s through flights or car rental companies, they’re 80% down,” Webster said.
“It’s like someone just turned the tap off but we’re not a transaction business so we don’t depend on the rise and fall of consumer demand, we’re a B2B platform provider.”
Webster said the company will use this time to focus on R&D and get new products ready but the environment will be a starkly different one.
“Every travel tech company I know in Ireland or anywhere else has just been punched in the face at every level. It’s hard to describe it.”
Nevertheless, Arvoia intends to go ahead with a planned launch of new products in the coming weeks, he said.
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Written by Jonathan Keane and posted on Fora.ie
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Great to see – now lets really tackle packaging waste and force business to make the environmentally correct choice when choosing their packaging – We need to get rid of plastic bottles, plastic wrapping and one off coffee cups and lids
@brian boru:
Bring in another tax…..
@P.J. Nolan: not all taxes are bad – some make sense and others are just greedy – if taxes make it cost effective for a business to do the right thing then it is a good tax in my book. Some are greedy and corrupt like the Irish water plan and need to be fought but smart taxation can be beneficial to society.
All the chocolate bar companies have moved to plastic wrapping because it costs less. Like wise the soft drink companies have moved to plastic bottles because they are prettier. Neither are thinking about the environment and need to be forced to rethink their packaging plans. Taxation is the fastest route to getting these huge companies to change their game plan at the speed we need it to happen.
@brian boru: I would be far more comfortable if chocolate bars once again came in paper and foil. I know they wont recycle the foil but i’m sure it does far less than damage to the environment than plastic.
@Darren Byrne: The plastic gives a longer shelf life so the chocolate companies are using it to give them higher margins at the cost of the environment. Regulatory needs to step in and drive a higher cost to the manufacturer for using the plastic due to the environmental cost. Am sure if the right pressure was applied a solution could be arranged that worked for everyone. The only lever I can think of in this situation is taxation as expecting people to make the change will take generations.
@brian boru: I’m sure it does give longer shelf life, but surely chocolate is a fast-selling item with a high turnover rate? And once bought? I’ve often eaten a square or two and put it away for a week or so, okay, I’m odd, but a lot of people seem to eat bars very quickly once they have some in the house – I’ve even heard of people freezing a bar to keep it for later. I honestly don’t see chocolate as being in any danger of going off before it’s consumed.
It’s fantastic the system works, now let’s solve the plastic bottles ( bottle water ) and the coffee cup problem .
Great and more to be done… especially with plastic
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/plasticpledge/?beta=true
Where are all the reusable items stripped out of the WEEE appliances. Is it Ireland, UK, Europe.
Surely it’s not Africa where all that toxic stuff is released in both the air and the soil/water, by burning all that plastic stuff that covers wires and other components by folks trying to scrape a living together ?
Any answers appreciated. Hope I’m wrong.
Is a dildo a small appliance? Just asking
@Seriously stunned: that all depends on the wife’s choice in style
@Seriously stunned: that all depends on the wife’s choice in style
If domestic appliances were designed and built to last longer than the now average 5 to 10 years lifespan then recycling would be greatly reduced.The average lifespan of some appliances twenty or thirty years ago was averaging ten to twenty years .Most appliances now have built in obsolescence.
Great, but after the specials on Aldi and Lidl this Sunday, we’ll need extra capacity!
You are going to have a great bunch of lads moistening their lips when you talk about that much copper
This just demonstrates the amount of junk we buy throw out and replace. Thats not sustainable
have your say