And the World’s Most Popular Scooter App Is...

January 07, 2020

This week, a Chinese bike-share vet is losing over 500 bikes a day, a European capital (almost) achieves Vision Zero, and Segway rolls out a new pod thing, but first…

Micromobility Insurance: Chicken or the Egg?

For operators and manufacturers alike, insurance is critical to being successful in the micromobility space. Competitive permit applications, tight deadlines, and burdensome insurance requirements can cloud any company’s mission to advance the future of mobility.

City officials require evidence of insurance, while operators face budgetary challenges before having permits issued, resulting in “chicken or the egg” scenarios. 

Founder Shield specializes in setting its clients up for success through preparation and execution of a tailored action plan around permit compliance. They can guide you through the process, make the appropriate recommendations, and help your expansion plans.

#MMAmerica

Did you know Micromobility America, our first two-day conference devoted to the transformative potential of lightweight electric vehicles, is coming to the Bay Area on April 22 & 23?

It’s true. And a host of leading tech and mobility companies, including emerging and established players representing shared micromobility, manufacturing, IoT, charging, parking, network software, and more, will be there to showcase best-in-class solutions.

If you haven’t booked your spot yet, tickets to #MMAmerica are available now.

And if your company is interested in partnering or exhibiting at the conference, contact us.

What You Need to Know This Week

  • Leading off, Lime continues its run as the most-downloaded and highest-rated scooter app in the world, according to an analysis of Apple and Google store data by Prabin Joel Jones. Interestingly, the average user rating for almost every scooter app fell or stayed the same during the month December. This suggests that seasonality could be hurting vehicle performance or influencing how riders perceive the overall service.

  • Dockless bike-share veteran Meituan Bike, formerly Mobike, lost more than 200,000 bikes to theft and vandalism in 2019. That’s more than Lime’s entire global scooter fleet. | Tech Startups

  • Taiwanese electric moped unicorn Gogoro reported that its sales more than doubled in 2019, rising 105% over the previous year. | Electrek

  • The European Union’s road system is the safest in the world, according to new analysis. (The U.S. ranked 33rd out of 40.) | Forbes

  • Segway is launching several new vehicles at CES this week, including its first sit-down scooters. The most novel addition to the company’s lineup, however, is S-Pod, a self-balancing, two-wheeled throne that can reach speeds of 24 mph. The vehicle is a sort of successor to the original Segway, which also relies on gyroscopic technology to stay upright and wound up being used more as a special-purpose modal than an everyday commute solution. | The Verge

  • Segway also teased a foldable kick scooter that features cruise control. | The Verge

  • Uber’s “new mobility” arm, which includes scooters and bikes, is believed to have made about $125 million last year, while losing about $300 million. Also, its weekly rides per vehicle are around 70% below target. That means Uber is operating less efficiently than micromobility natives like Lime. The silver lining for the company is that its losses per vehicle have fallen greatly. | The Information

  • Oslo, a city of 675,000, experienced a total of one traffic fatality in 2019. Not a single cyclist, pedestrian, or child was killed on its roads during the entire year. | Curbed

  • German auto supplier Schaeffler is developing a four-wheeled pedelec, featuring a roof, windshield, and flatbed, that can reach speeds of 15 mph and carry a load of up to 440 pounds. But does it belong in the bike lane? | Süddeutschland Zeitung

  • Revel is coming to Oakland soon. The Brooklyn-based startup has applied for a permit to deploy a “regional fleet” of electric mopeds, including in Berkeley, Alameda, and Emeryville. | East Bay Times

  • Just in time, The Information did a deep dive into Revel’s business. Among others things, they found:

    • Revel mopeds average seven trips a day in NYC but only four trips a day in D.C.

    • Its riders average 3 to 3.5 miles per trip, double the distance most people cover on a kick scooter or bike.

    • Its vehicles have an estimated lifespan of three years.

  • In other Revel news, the company also deployed 750 mopeds in Miami this week. | Miami Times

  • Apparently it beat out Bird, which hoped to launch its lighter Cruiser in the Florida city. | Cory Weinberg

  • Indian startup E-Chargeup Solution is building battery swap stations for electric rickshaws in Noida. | CNBC

  • San Antonio’s nonprofit bike-sharing system is in jeopardy after losing its sponsor. It’s bad timing for a program that is facing new competition from scooter startups. | Rivard Report

  • Swiftmile’s new charging dock, seen at CES, features a digital display for transit data, public info, and ads. | Swiftmile

  • It’s official: San Francisco’s Market Street will go car-free by the end of the month. | SFist

  • Related: On her podcast, Smarter Cars, Michele Kyrouz interviewed the city’s incoming MTA chief, Jeffrey Tumlin about his new role regulating the streets in the hometown of some of the world’s biggest shared mobility companies.

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