It’s a heartbraking sight

Traveling the world, we’ve witnessed many places where beautiful environments are being ruined by garbage and thick black smoke emitted from the tailpipes of vehicles on the roads. This sight breaks our hearts.

We visited Hong Kong a while ago. Coming from Finland where the air truly is clean, it was a new experience to understand that there are places in this world where you simply cannot see the horizon as the amount of pollution prevents you from doing this. This is not the way we want to treat the place we call home.

Then again take Koh Samui,  easily one of the most beautiful places on this planet. Then why do we allow places like this to slowly become enveloped in smog? Why don’t we cherish it and preserve its beauty not just for us, but for generations to come? We cannot simply rely on the wind to disperse the pollution; we need to prevent it from being generated in the first place.

“We cannot simply rely on the wind to disperse the pollution; we need to prevent it from being generated in the first place.”

Ride the future

Over 50% of the vehicles used in Thailand are motorcycles, and they are one of the largest sources of pollution in the area. Did you know that driving a gasoline-fueled motorcycle for 100 km generates so much pollution, you could fill a small garden shed with it? That is not a small amount. It is huge.

“Did you know that driving a gasoline-fueled motorcycle for 100 km generates so much pollution, you could fill a small garden shed with it?”

The reason people don’t use alternatives such as electric vehicles more often is likely not only due to attitude but also due to a lack of access or means to obtain them.

Electric vehicle technologies have evolved rapidly and are already capable of serving as traditional motorcycles would, or even better. There are few companies in Thailand, and even fewer in Koh Samui, offering the opportunity to ride these modern modes of transport.

Meanwhile, using a scooter is simply the most rational way of getting around the island and exploring what it has to offer.

So to summarize

• A large number of people need a way to travel around the island
• The world is being polluted with a rapid pace
• The needed tech exists
• General attitude towards lowering one’s carbon footprint is on the mind of every modern traveler.

Combining this situation with our mindset for building a great customer experience and the capabilities to support that with the latest digital technologies, it felt natural that we would take on this challenge and decided to start finding remedy for this major source of pollution.

“it felt natural that we would take on this challenge and decided to start finding a solution for this major source of pollution.”

We spent a year working relentlessly planning, finetuning, developing and preparing a new service that would not only allow easy access to electric scooters, but also to build the best possible customer experience we could.

Finally in early march 2024 the Cocovolt scooter rental services launch took place on Koh Samui Island.

Our aim is to build services that not only intrigue the most environmentally aware people but anyone who appreciates a good and reliable service – reducing pollution comes as an inbuilt quality, as it should.

By ourselves, we are but islands in the ocean – Together, we can make great things happen.

Cocovolt aims not only to be a scooter rental but to be part of a journey from today towards a cleaner world. Electric scooters serve merely as a means to engage in this bigger challenge.

Maybe someday, we will grow large enough to harness resources and reach out to relevant ecosystems, build a group of like-minded individuals pushing together towards innovative solutions that make a difference.

Imagine if we could figure out a way to remove all trash from the beaches and from the ocean – it would be a win-win for everyone: the environment, tourists, businesses, and the local community! We don’t know how to do this yet, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.

“Imagine if we could figure out a way to remove all trash from the beaches and from the ocean”

Final Words 

Now, I ask you to take another look at Cocovolt.  Do you still see just another scooter rental shop on Koh Samui?

We see renting scooters as the starting point for something greater – we hope you see it too and welcome you to join us in making a difference.

So you see, if you’re a person needing to travel the island, by choosing to ride our mango yellow scooters is not only a choice about your mode of transportation.  If you’re a business owner likeminded to us, choosing to work with us is not a choice you make between a rental company you recommend to your customers. You make a choice to remove a gardenshed worth of pollution from our common airspace and then you multiply it by the number of electric bikes riding on the streets. You CAN make a difference and the choice is yours to make.

An old proverb says “If you travel the path you’re on, you will end up where it is leading to” . Let us make choices and together take the actions that put ourselves on a path that leads us to a cleaner and a beautiful future.

Jani Heinonen & Angelika Meikop

Founders of Cocovolt