❤️ Ridehailers Loves Micro

Lyft acquires PBSC, Bolt pumps $160M into scooters/bikes, and Rapido lands $180M for bike taxis.

April 26, 2022

Hey there-

Before we dig into this week’s industry news, a quick FYI: We just put out the agenda for Micromobility Europe and we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you to go check it out quickly.

Each session of our Amsterdam summit is tailored to deliver you actionable insights about the companies, business models, governing policies, technologies, and macro trends that are reshaping transportation in cities around the world. It’s a great lineup, and there will be more announcements soon.

Come mix it up with micromobility’s top global leaders and thinkers for two focused days of talks, meetings, test-rides, and more in Amsterdam on June 1-2. Book your tickets here.

What You Need to Know This Week

  • Lyft is doubling its micromobility footprint by acquiring Canadian bikeshare supplier PBSC. The deal will expand Lyft’s operations to 7,500 stations and 95,000 bikes spread across 45 markets in 15 countries.

  • And Lyft’s not the only ridehailer betting big on micromobility. Estonia’s Bolt says it will spend $160M to scale up its electric scooter and bike operations this year, bringing its total fleet up to 230,000 vehicles. The company says the decision was informed by explosive growth in its scooter division, where ridership was up 500% in March, year-over-year.

  • Speaking of monster investments, Swiggy has led a $180M financing round into bike taxi startup Rapido as the Indian food delivery giant looks to broaden its fleet network across the country.

  • Want to understand the latest consumer trends in micromobility? Then definitely tune into today’s insight-packed webinar with Oliver Bruce to find out how next-gen escooter and ebike startups are differentiating themselves through superior UX/UI, customer service, and HW/SW. Register here.

  • Because you can never say it enough: Riding a bike in America should be less dangerous.

  • Helbiz, which last summer became the first shared micromobility company to go public, reported a net loss of $72M for 2021. The losses coincide with a period of intense diversification for Helbiz, including forays into ghost kitchens, retail escooters, long-term car rentals, and even a sports streaming platform.

  • Portland is learning the hard way that cities can’t meet their climate targets without getting people to drive less: “While Portland has set ambitious climate goals, the city is not on track to meet its targets, largely because emissions from transportation remain stubbornly high.”

  • While ebikes have gotten faster in recent years, a new study shows that riders rarely pedal to the max speed.

  • Cake is launching a tiny, off-road electric motorbikes for kids.

  • Ola Electric is recalling more than 1400 emopeds after one of its vehicles caught fire, prompting an inquiry by the Indian government.

  • Cooper Bikes, the company behind the Mini Cooper car, has just unveiled four new electric bicycle models, each featuring regenerative braking.

  • Spanish ebike startup Crow Bicycle has raised $325,000 from Nuflis Investments.

  • Lectric’s new folding ebike sets a new industry low-price for high-performance mid-motor ebikes at just $1,799.

  • The USDOT will award $5.6B over five years to states to fund projects that reduce emissions, including bike lanes.

  • London’s new bike storage hangars are up to five times more expensive than car parking.

Bike hangar on street

  • Luup, a Japanese shared micromobility company which recently landed funding, just announced a partnership to install scooter ports at FamilyMart, one of Japan’s largest convenience store chains.

  • Zoomo is hoovering up talent from Uber, Lyft, and others to build its ebike delivery business.

  • Making public transit free may boost ridership and alleviate inequality, but it’s less successful as climate policy.

  • What factors dictate bikeshare ridership? A new study suggests weather, employment, proximity to important destinations, and temporal variables (daylight hours, university terms, weekdays, holidays) actually play a bigger role than population density and infrastructure.

Jobs to Be Done

Welcome to our jobs board, where every week we post open positions in hopes of connecting our talented 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.

Hit reply if you have a job that you’re interested in listing.

Dance (Berlin):

Streetlight Data: Associate Product Manager, Active Transportation & Transit Modes (remote)

Vassla:

Zoomo: