🛺 The EV Revolution Looks Different in India

Plus, Populus banks $11M for curb tech, UK doctors pedal to patients to provide care faster, and the confessions of a self-loathing ebike owner.

September 06, 2022

⏳ 9 Days til Showtime…

We are just 9 days away from Micromobility America’s 2022 gathering in the SF Bay Area, and all the smartest people in urban mobility will be there.

On tap, our own Horace Dediu has curated a stellar lineup of talks, rides, and first looks at new products, including a Shark Tank-style pitch contest, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, the CEOs of all the major the small EV companies, and much more.

Most exciting of all - tickets are nearly 50% off right now for a short time. Join us in the SF Bay Area on September 15-16.

PS - We’re looking for a handful of volunteers to help ensure the event runs smoothly in exchange for a free ticket. This is a great chance to go behind the scenes, save money, and meet industry leaders. Are you interested? Email us asap to reserve your spot.

What You Need To Know This Week

“There are many regions in the world which don’t buy a $60,000 car.” In India, the EV revolution is arriving in the form of small two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles.
Why is the oil company Shell making electric scooters and bikes part of its clean-energy efforts? “If you look at the hard data, micromobility has just been one hockey stick in terms of growth and projections”.
Do ebikes have an “identity crisis,” or does this guy? Confessions of a self-loathing ebike owner.
Is this the first truly fossil fuel-free bike? Cake pledges to produce zero carbon electric dirt bikes by 2025 by decarbonizing its entire supply chain and manufacturing process.

New York City has seen a spike in battery fires recently, prompting officials to consider banning electric bikes in public housing buildings. This three-part series explores how batteries are made, what causes fires, and how cities can prevent conflagrations.
Populus, a San Francisco-based transportation data startup, has raised a $11M Series A round for its curb management software which is designed to help cities alleviate congestion and set dynamic curb pricing.
As last-mile delivery booms in recent years, the next big opportunity for micromobility will be the commercial market.
A French crash safety laboratory is testing the ability of ADAS to detect people riding scooters.

The age of “the car is king” is over: “Just as the coach and horse were pushed out by automobiles 120 years ago, so the car is being steadily evicted from world cities by the authorities or by public revulsion.”
“If clinicians had traveled in cars, we would have lost approximately between two to four hours in travel time.” Medical professionals in England are using ebikes to reach patients faster.
Electric cars are involved in traffic accidents 50% more often than gas-powered cars due to their fast, sharp accelerations.
.The retro-styled Mod Easy Sidecar ebike is a fun way to transport your furry friends or cargo.

“We want to see a massive shift. We want fewer cars,” Cities across Europe are banning automobiles from city centers, implementing congestion pricing, improving vehicle-sharing networks, and building cycling infrastructure in order to improve livability.
Scotland is offering interest-free loans for ebike purchases, up to £6,000 per customer.
Getting bike lanes built is often the focus for cycling advocates, but reliable bike parking is just as important. The Dutch have found that bike parking infrastructure cost 30% less than public transit subsidies and also reduces the social costs of car travel.
When the snow starts falling, it’s time to put away the ebike, right? Not so fast. The new Envo Flex can convert from an ebike to a trike, cargo bike, and even a snow bike with a track.

Florence adds two more lanes to expand its Bicipolitana, or ‘bike subway’ model, to support the needs of cyclists that travel the streets every day.
Gogoro is launching battery-swapping stations in Tel Aviv.
The humble hub motor, once shunned by ebike makers as inferior to mid-drive motors, is having a moment.
Sometimes it's the simple things that make your riding experience better. Case and point, this Dutch bike rack keeps your saddle dry for the commute home.

Pod People

On the latest episode of the podcast, Jason Slaughter, creator of the largest urbanist YouTube channel Not Just Bikes, is interviewed by Julia Thayne DeMourdant from the Rocky Mountain Institute about why many cities suck, but Dutch cities don’t.

Specifically, they tackle:

The origins of Not Just Bikes
Why car dependency creates sprawling suburbs
Why a city that is built for cars is not built for people
Why we need to move away from building car-centric cities, and instead build people-friendly cities with walkable neighborhoods

Jobs To Be Done

Looking for your next opportunity? Search for micromobility jobs on our new and improved platform right now. Our Jobs Board is an expanded, keyword-searchable online hub where you search for open positions and connect with innovative companies seeking top talent in the burgeoning world of new mobility.