🤠 America

Plus, Razor launches a seated electric cargo scooter, Boston reinvents itself as a 15-min city, and material shortages lead to a spike in battery prices.

September 13, 2022

48 Hours…

The big day is almost here. Micromobility America kicks off in the SF Bay Area in just 48 hours (Sep 15-16), and we have so many unbelievably cool things to show you.

For our largest event ever, you can expect a nonstop procession of stellar speeches 🏟 unmatched networking 🤝 lively parties 🎉 dynamic product demos 🚴‍♀️ breakthrough launches 🤯 and more. It’s all part of our jam-packed two-day agenda, featuring NYC Mayor Eric Adams, the CEOs of all the major small EV companies, and so much more.

If you haven’t signed up yet, there are still a few tickets available. Register now before space runs out…

PS - We’re looking for a handful of volunteers to help ensure the event runs smoothly in exchange for a free ticket. Email us asap to reserve your spot if you are interested.

PPS Already have a ticket? Check out our handy guide for how to travel to/from the event.

What You Need To Know This Week

  • “The basic message is the micromobility market is growing, and it’s growing everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean geographically, but I also mean all the different segments: sharing, subscription, ownership.” McKinsey reveals new research on micromobility adoption (and it will be sharing more interesting tidbits from the report this week at Micromobility America).  

  • Japan has 5x fewer traffic deaths than the US. Along with better transit access and urban planning, the sub-compact Kei car is one main reason why Japan’s streets are safer.

  • Boston Mayor Wu announces a plan for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure that “will put 35 percent of Boston’s residents and 72 percent of Boston’s jobs within a 3-minute walk of the city’s protected bike lane network.”

  • Small vehicles for small trips, anyone? #bikeisbest humorously illustrates the concept that we need to use the right tool for the job when it comes to transportation.

  • Denmark’s Cogo just secured €800,000 to develop a MaaS platform to improve user access to shared mobility options.

  • Little, the Kenyan super app, launches ebike and scooters to combat crippling gas prices.

  • Pon Bike’s ebike shopping spree continues with the acquisition of Dutch brand Veloretti.

  • Nonprofits in various cities are recovering discarded Jump ebikes from Uber and giving them new life through ebike libraries.

  • The name Razor might spark memories of the first scooter you rode when you were young. Now the company is tapping into the EV market with a seated electric cargo scooter for adults.

  • Cycling infrastructure actually works! London will make temporary bike lanes and other pro-cycling measures permanent after seeing a 25% increase in cycling during test periods.

  • French bike maker Voltaire has raised €5 million to boost production of its vintage-looking ebike.

  • Speaking of France, Yamaha is opening an ebike motor production facility there to streamline logistics and meet its 2050 carbon neutrality goals.

  • How scooters’ “advanced rider assistance systems,” or ARAS, can solve sidewalk riding for cities.

  • Nuro has secured a 10-year contract to be Uber’s autonomous food delivery partner in California and Texas.

  • Shortages in raw materials could result in a 22% increase in the cost of batteries by 2026. One more reason why we should focus on transitioning to smaller vehicles with lower energy needs, rather than electric cars like the HummerEVs, which runs on a 2000 lb battery.

  • With complete software control, scalability, and Pay-As-You-Go product financing, EVs could be an ideal web3 application.

  • A newly released UK survey shows that, after taking a “car-free challenge,” 98% of people want to continue to use micromobility and transit for their daily trips instead of cars.

  • Why China, India, and Vietnam are the global epicenters of micromobility: “Two- and three-wheel vehicles [are] the low-hanging fruit of the EV transition, particularly in emerging markets.”  

  • European shipping companies are embracing cargo bikes as an essential component for last-mile deliveries and seeing positive results. So why are US companies so reluctant to adopt bikes for their logistics?

  • “Freight represented 15 percent of the vehicles on the roads in urban areas, but occupied 40 percent of the space.” The comprehensive case for cargo bikes for last mile logistics.

  • Last week, bike Twitter was irked by a hot take that called ebikes “monstrosities.” In response,  this collection of personal stories celebrates the pure joy that ebikes can bring.

  • Browse over 20 of the best jobs in micromobility—and post your own—on our Jobs to Be Done board.

New Blog Post

The Territorial Animal

Horace Dediu looks at how we have a “time budget” when it comes to how long we travel. Despite new technological advancements in mobility and transit that allow us to travel farther and faster, we continue to limit our daily travel time to 1-1.5 hours.