Is this the biggest world leader to ride a scooter yet?

Used cars are actually appreciating, Dallas destroys its (very successful) scooter pilot, and WFH may not last forever.

September 08, 2020

Hello and welcome to the Micromobility Newsletter, a weekly missive about mobility, mostly mobility in cities by small electric vehicles like bikes and scooters. The reason you’re reading this email is that you signed up on our website or came to one of our events.

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California almost ended micromobility last week. How? By nearly passing a bill that prohibits operators from using liability waivers, without which they would basically be uninsurable. So bullet dodged, right? Not exactly. Many jurisdictions are now attempting similar bans. The consequences for micromobility could be massive.

At 1PM CT on Sept. 17, join Christensen Group’s Sharing Economy Leader, Brandon Schuh, along with John Wackman, partner at Nilan Johnson law firm, to find out how operators and manufacturers can stay atop these evolving standards—and get guidance on when to challenge them.

Sneak peek

Horace Dediu’s first major SOTU address of the coronavirus era is coming up in two days. The disruptive-innovation analyst has been busy assembling all-new analysis and charts, like the one above, which he will present for the first time ever on Thursday at 9AM PT / 12PM ET.

It’s going to an all-timer, an instant classic, with thundering narrative arcs backed up with detailed data about how the pandemic is reshaping cities and micromobility.

We hope you’ll join us for this incredible virtual event. Tickets are $20, and you can register below.

Calling all transport planners

Good news: Cities are expanding bike lanes to get more people cycling.

Bad news: Very little data exists about how much is being added or where.

Solution: Alessandro Zenati is building a global hub to crowdsource local bike lane data. Help us make it great by contributing your city’s data today.

What you need to know this week

  • Electric bike pioneer Mike Radenbaugh was interviewed on the latest episode of How I Built This. Of note, his company, Rad Power Bikes, has 25% market share in the US, did $100 million in sales in 2019, and is on track for 300% growth this year. And thanks to the pandemic, the company has more bikes on order right now than it has sold in its entire five-year history.

  • Amsterdam-based Swapfiets launched a monthly subscription service for bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters in Paris yesterday. If you’re wondering why the subscription space is heating up so much right now, according to new research by Unagi, one-third of consumers say they would prefer leasing a scooter to owning or renting one.

  • So far, 12 companies have had their e-scooters approved for use in the UK, Bird, Bolt, Dott, Ginger, Helbiz, Lime, Link, Spin, Tier, Voi, Wind, and Zipp, and 12 more have applied.

  • Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently became probably the most prominent world leader to be seen riding an electric scooter yet. Hit us on Twitter if you know of a photo of any politician more well-known than Johnson riding one.

  • One more thing about the UK: Voi is carrying out an e-scooter trial in the West Midlands area, which chief executive Fredrik Hjelm calls “the biggest [contract] we have seen globally.” The program could eventually see 10,000 vehicles deployed in Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton.

  • Shared micromobility startups are always talking about when they expect to break even. Invers has a good roundup of profitability predictions from companies like Lime, Tier, Voi, and more for you to keep track of them.

  • According to Northwestern professor Hyejin Youn, white-collar workers will have to go back to the office eventually because working near other people is key to innovation.

  • Dallas, one of the biggest cities for shared scooters in the US in terms of ridership and number of vehicles, killed its dockless program virtually overnight due to public safety concerns. Our friend Reilly Brennan sums it up best: “Shared micromobility is a big business, right up until a city decides it’s not.”

  • Consumers are snapping up used cars so they can avoid trains, buses, and Ubers during the coronavirus pandemic. “‘Used cars are supposed to depreciate, but I’d look up the book value of a car on the lot and see it was higher than at the beginning of the month,’ said Adam Silverleib, president of Silko Honda in Raynham, Mass. “I’ve never seen that before.”

  • Some are afraid that putting more cheap old cars on the road will be bad for air quality and respiratory health.

  • In a rare example of a Western company providing micromobility services for the Chinese market, Czech automaker Skoda is offering moped subscriptions in Beijing.

  • Canyon showcased an enclosed bike-car hybrid concept that can go up to 37 mph.

  • Lime scooters are back in Brazil and Chile with new sanitation precautions. Interestingly, Lime left Brazil before the coronavirus outbreak even started, back in January, because the country was unprofitable. The company’s return suggests the market has fundamentally changed.

  • Asphalt roads make air pollution worse in summer, according to new research.

  • Bosch is rolling out a charging network for e-bikes in a resort area of the Swiss Alps, with the hope of eventually deploying the stations in urban settings too.

  • Zoba co-founder Joseph Brennan makes the case for how Uber-style dynamic pricing could work in shared micromobility.

  • BMW wowed the world with new photos of a futuristic electric motorcycle concept.

  • Ridership for Las Vegas’s bike-share program has doubled since the pandemic hit. But that’s not all. While it’s hard to believe, apparently the system’s e-bikes were averaging 1,000 rides a day (!) in May.

  • As school restarts, Paris is reimbursing riders under the age of 18 for transit passes.

  • A new study finds that newly implemented public bike-share programs in North America have not led to an increase in cyclist fatalities.

  • Google Maps will soon allow people in Austin to pay for parking directly in the app using Google Pay.

  • Dear god, there’s a highway interchange in Houston that’s the same size as Siena, Italy.

Pod people

On a new episode of the podcast, Oliver Bruce talks to Raoul Stöckle, CEO of Bond, about what riders want at the high-end of the micromobility market.

Jobs to be done

Welcome to our jobs board, where every week we post new career openings in hopes of connecting our readers with professional opportunities in the burgeoning world of new mobility. Find out who’s hiring below and sign up for the newsletter to view fresh listings every week.