Electric Scooters And Micro-Mobility: Here’s Everything You Need To Know

Original by forbes

The rise of micro-mobility companies has been well documented over the last few years with companies like Ofo and Mobike in China and Citi Bike and Jump Bikes in the US providing consumers with convenient options for last-mile transportation. All these companies have gone on to raise venture capital or be acquired, showcasing both the consumer and investor demand for last-mile transportation solutions. In 2018, this micro-mobility trend was re-energized with the emergence of the shared and dockless electric scooter (e-scooter for short), pioneered by Lime and Bird in the US. These e-scooters quickly found such strong product-market fit that Bird and Lime became the fastest ever US companies to reach billion dollar valuations, with each achieving this milestone within a year of inception. The trend of e-scooter companies quickly scaling into large companies has continued into 2019 with Grin and Yellow announcing a merger to form the strongest micro-mobility competitor in LatAm less than a year after they were founded. (Disclosure: Base10 is an investor in Grin and Yellow). Moreover, additional e-scooter companies from all over the world – Skip, Spin, Scoot, PopScoot, Beam, Tier Mobility, Wind Mobility, Voi Technology, Vogo, Dott, and Flash – all recently announced large capital raises. In Europe alone, five e-scooter companies have emerged and raised over $150 million of capital since the start of 2018.

However, negative headlines about e-scooters ending up in lakes and oceans, congesting sidewalks, being stolen, causing injuries, and experiencing intense competition have tempered the narrative and suggest e-scooters are not the best micro-mobility option after all. There is even talk of a “scootergeddon.” Despite all the positive funding news and frequent use by consumers, plenty of questions remain about the viability of e-scooters as a long-term micro-mobility solution.

Do cities need electric scooters?

Megacities worldwide are facing an epidemic of congestion and pollution caused by rapid urbanization that is increasing gridlock and putting severe pressure on public transportation systems. 46% of car traffic in the US is caused by cars on trips less than three miles and micro-mobility solutions could help alleviate a significant portion of this last-mile gridlock. Data from INRIX suggests the average commuter in the US spent 42 hours in traffic congestion in 2014.

But do cities actually want e-scooters, or other micro-mobility solutions?

It depends which city you ask. However, what most cities agree with is that e-scooters, electric bikes, and pedal bikes, whether docked or dockless, are viable solutions to help alleviate traffic congestion, especially at rush hours, and they are excited about that. (Note: based on multiple conversations with senior MTA officials across the country). The main concerns with micro-mobility vehicles, and e-scooters in particular, are safety and whether cities current infrastructure can support the massive influx of these vehicles. Common questions include “how do we keep the e-scooters from being parked where we don’t want them?” and ”how do we modify our bike lanes to keep e-scooter riders and bike riders safe while also keeping enough sidewalk space for pedestrians?”

Most of the large micro-mobility companies have been working with cities to address these concerns including using electronic geo-zones to prevent riders from either riding in an unsafe area or parking in an area where the city doesn’t want them to park (this could also be used to prevent people from riding on sidewalks), and e-scooter companies require riders to be 18 years or older and with a valid driver’s license scanned before you can open an account.  

Additionally, municipal transportation data companies like Remix and Swiftly, who help cities plan bus routes and track their vehicles in real time, are beginning to develop products and dashboards for transportation authorities to track and analyze all micro-mobility vehicles across platforms to see where they all are located, where the broken ones are, and where their use is being concentrated at any given time. It will take time and a track record of safety and compliance, which is not guaranteed, for most cities to believe micro-mobility companies do better good than harm, but through data, cooperation, and intelligent regulation, the chances that cities become more open to these solutions should increase.

Do people actually like e-scooters as much as they like other micro-mobility solutions?

Docked bikes, dockless bikes, and e-bikes are all popular last-mile transportation methods. However, if you have been to Santa Monica or San Diego on a sunny day, you would have seen hundreds of locals and visitors race to find any open e-scooter before going to a nearby dockless bike. Data from Lime showing how fast they reached one million and six million e-scooter rides sheds some light on the product-market fit of e-scooters, especially when compared with rideshare over a similar point in each solutions lifecycle.

 

Electric Scooter Gps

Sharing Electric Scooter

Electric Scooter With Removable Battery

Electric Scooter Sharing System

Electric Scooter For Rent

Electric Scooter Rental

Removable Battery Electric Scooter

Electric Scooter With Detachable Battery

Electric Scooter Swapable Battery

Rental Scooter Electric

Rental Electric Scooter

Sharing Electric Scooter Gps

Electric Scooter With Gps

Gps Electric Scooter

Gps Electric Scooter Sharing With Iot Device

Gps Sharing Electric Scooter

Electric Scooter Adult Gps

Electric Scooter Sharing

Sharing Electric Scooter For Adults

Sharing System Qr Code Electric Scooter

Electric Power Sharing Electric Bicycle Scooter

Hot Electric Sharing Scooter

8.5inch Sharing Electric Scooter

Rental Dockless Sharing Electric Scooter

Electric Sharing Scooter

Kick Scooter Sharing Shared Electric Scooter

Electric Rental Scooter

2019 Rental Electric Scooter

Electric Scooter Rental System

Electric Kick Scooter Sharing

Sharing Scooter Electric

Sharing Electric Scooters

8.5 Inch Rental Electric Scooter

Electric Rental Scooters

Rental Public Shared Electric Scooter

Electric Scooter Ride Sharing

Electric Feel Scooter Sharing

Electric Vehicle Sharing Scooter

Gps Electric Scooter