Micromobility Newsletter for January 10, 2023

This post was originally published in the weekly Micromobility Newsletter. For more insights, analysis, and news about the future of urban mobility, subscribe here.

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🚨 Heads up: Micromobility World is coming up on Jan. 19th, and for the next 24 hours, you can snag your tickets for $0.00 before prices go up. Don’t miss this unbelievable opportunity to hear from amazing speakers like Kara Swisher, Gabe Klein, Horace Dediu, and Matthew Yglesias—not to mention, watch the dramatic conclusion of the Rider’s Choice Awards—at our largest-ever online event. Register Free Now

What You Need to Know Today

Why subsidizing scooters and eBikes will make them safer.

A number of U.S. colleges have recently banned electric scooters over safety concerns, but are their fears overblown? (See above for our opinion on how to handle the matter)

An electric bike with +200 miles of range… VinFast’s first foray into the world of EVs with less than four wheels… a kickscooter made by the inventors of the VHS. CES may be turning into an auto show, but there was still a ton of innovative new micromobility devices on display in Las Vegas last week. Get ready for our full CES recap in our weekly vehicle-focused Ride Review newsletter this Thursday. Subscribe here.

The final round of the Rider’s Choice Awards is upon us. Only 5 nominees remain in most of the 30+ categories. Find out which players are still in the running—and cast your ballot for your favorites—here before Jan. 17th. The top vote-getter in each category will take home gold at Micromobility World.

Big news from the Mile High City: Denver’s trailblazing eBike rebate is returning on Jan. 31st, but it will be smaller than last year’s. The instant refund will now be $300 for an eBike and $200 for a cargo model, down from $400 and $500, respectively, in 2022.

Denverites might be able to make up the difference thanks to a new state initiative. Colorado is considering adding EV incentives that include $500-1000 in tax rebates for eBike purchases. And unlike Denver’s program, these credits would become a part of the state tax code, meaning they would not require annual funding.

Colorado can’t hog all the eBikes forever. Atlanta is also looking at ways to help residents cover the costs of a battery-powered bicycle, including a $1M assistance program to start.

Meanwhile Uganda is planning to just give free electric motorcycles to all current motorcycle riders. That’s right. Free. Motorbikes are a popular means of transportation in many African countries and Uganda is home to about 1M of them. Beyond the obvious climate benefits, converting Ugandan motorcyclists from fossil fuels to electricity would also lower the cost of two-wheeler ownership and hasten the growth of domestic battery/vehicle production. So if this works out, it is truly a win-win-win for Uganda.

British motorists spend an average of 13% of their gross income on their cars. Nearly half believe they are trapped by car dependency and have no other choice but to drive everywhere.

This is not the case in London though, where Santander Cycles shattered its own record with over 11.5M trips in 2022.

Lastly in U.K. bike news, EAV has struck a deal to service its fleet of commercial cargo eBikes exclusively at Halfords stores.

From Milan’s Piazza Aperte (“Open Squares”) to Bogotá’s new 350-mile bike lane network, here is a look at the cities that have successfully clung onto car-free spaces since the pandemic and what they are doing with these road areas now.

Brompton plans to reduce its dependence on China and Taiwan for parts because of growing political tensions between Beijing and Taipei.

Berlin’s plan to reduce driving hinges on its MaaS app, Jelbi, which is currently rolling out micromobility hotspots all over the city.

Bounce, an Indian company that rents electric mopeds, has laid off 90% of its workforce, but raised $7M in bridge funding.

Faction has begun making driverless deliveries in San Francisco using a fleet of three-wheeled EVs.

Mumbai is instituting “no honking days” to silence the cacophony of cars.

A worryingly popular TikTok conspiracy theory claims that the 15-minute city agenda is a government attempt to usher in “climate lockdowns.”

Why do we keep expanding highways when we know for a fact that it doesn’t actually reduce congestion?

Replacing gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs with even heavier electric trucks and SUVs will only deepen America’s severe road-safety crisis.

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

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