Wheels4Wheels

Wheels4Wheels: Bolt turns everyday scooter rides into open accessibility data
Closing a gap in urban accessibility, the project created by Serviceplan Group maps street-level surface quality, creating open data that can help cities, developers and navigation platforms improve wheelchair accessibility

Bolt, the European shared mobility platform, has launched an initiative that gives wheelchair users street-level information on the most crucial factor for wheelchair navigation: surface quality. Named Wheels4Wheels and created in partnership with Serviceplan Group, the project repurposes sensors already fitted to its scooters to collect accessibility data that mainstream maps have long been missing and make that data publicly accessible – so that any navigation service, city authority, or developer can use it immediately and for free.
For the 80 million people worldwide relying on a wheelchair to get around, surface conditions are not a question of comfort, but a serious health risk: a 2013 study found that all participants suffered from chronic pain caused by the constant vibrations they experience when traveling over rough ground. While mainstream navigation apps can route users around steps, they cannot tell them whether a pavement is paved or cobblestone.
To overcome this challenge, Wheels4Wheels uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS receivers, and cameras already installed in scooters for vehicle safety and maintenance. The system analyzes data recorded on daily trips and translates it into surface-quality ratings on a five-point scale.

Successful launch in Tallinn
“Being in a wheelchair trains you for the unexpected,” said accessibility advocate Hendra Raud from Tallinn, Estonia, where the project was first implemented. “Cobblestone makes your entire body ache, and getting stuck can mess up your entire schedule. You feel frustrated. So it’s a great feeling to finally have a map of the world the way we actually experience it.”
In the Tallinn pilot, Bolt scooters covered 550 km across all eight city districts, capturing 40.5 million accelerometer readings and producing 66,088 individual surface ratings, with manual mapping conducted in parallel to validate the method. As a result, available surface-quality information across Tallinn increased by 26%.

A bold vision for the future
“Every year, our scooters cover millions of kilometers across hundreds of cities, registering every bump, slope, and uneven surface along the way,” said Ardo Reinsalu, Director of Vehicles at Bolt. “We have long shared that data with city partners to help improve roads and pavements for everyone. Wheels4Wheels takes that a step further by making the same information available directly to the people who need it most – without building a new app, but improving the maps they already use. This initiative changes how we think about scooters themselves, as something that goes beyond getting people around and actively helps make cities more accessible for everyone.”
Bolt operates more than 230,000 scooters across more than 270 cities worldwide, generating millions of data points every day.
Alex Schill, Global Chief Creative Officer at Serviceplan, adds: “Wheels4Wheels shows how an existing platform can be reimagined as civic infrastructure. What began as mobility data for fleet operations becomes a practical tool for inclusion, turning a familiar urban service into an open resource for more accessible cities. We’re very proud to support a matter that hopefully improves the daily lives of thousands of people.”
The full Wheels4Wheels pipeline is released as open-source software under MIT licence, meaning any city, developer, or organization can access, run, and adapt it freely. Data is published to OpenStreetMap, the world’s largest open-source map database, from where it's automatically integrated into apps that support surface-based routing, and can be used by developers including Apple and Microsoft with apps used by more than 1 billion people.