Micromobility Newsletter for October 25, 2022

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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Micromobility World

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Exciting news: Micromobility World, the largest virtual conference for small vehicles, is returning on January 19th, 2023. Get ready for a stacked day of world-class speakers and content, including the first-ever Rider’s Choice Awards.

What is the Rider’s Choice Awards? In short, it is an opportunity for you, the riders, to vote on the best companies of the year in our industry and to celebrate the broad diversity of businesses and people that have supported the fastest-growing mobility ecosystem around the world.

Starting today, vote for your favorite companies here. The 24 award categories mirror the 24 subcategories of The Micromobility Landscape. In addition, we have also added some fun new categories for people and places that have helped push our industry forward (Best Journalist, Best Mayor, Best Reviewer, Best VC, Best City, and Best Founder/CEO).

Once all the votes have been collected, an independent panel of judges will review them and select a winner for each category. The winners will be announced live at Micromobility World on January 19th, 2023, with each winner receiving an “M” or “Micro” award which we hope they will hang in their office.

Cast your votes now and don’t forget to register free for Micromobility World to see the winners announced live via livestream!

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What You Need To Know This Week

• Damn right, micromobility wants your respect. Micromobility is experiencing exponential growth in the US yet the industry still struggles to be taken seriously in policy discussions.
• Rivian’s RJ Scaringe all but confirmed the electric truck company is making an ebike. With fully self-driving cars unlikely to arrive anytime soon and battery supply issues slowing EV adoption, the Rivian CEO says ebikes are going to be an essential part of the way people and goods move in cities. What might a Rivian ebike look like? Perhaps it would be something with plenty of cargo capacity, given that one of the company’s largest investors is Amazon…
• Want to make money riding Citi Bikes? The “Bike Angel” program incentivizes people to rebalance ebike inventories at docking stations across New York City.
• Casey Neistat highlights another way for riders to earn money in his latest video, which asks the question, “Would you report someone parked in a bike lane for some cold hard cash?”

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• Bird continues its restructuring efforts as it terminates operations in Germany, Norway, and Sweden as well as smaller to medium-sized markets in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
• Claus Fleischer, CEO of Bosch eBike Systems, discusses how “smaller mobility, including the ebike, will become a substantial force in the transport ecosystem.”
• To date, Denver has spent $4.1 million to incentivize people to purchase ebikes and to develop bike-friendly infrastructure, and their journey towards being a net-zero emissions city by 2040 has only just begun.
• New Smart Lock IoT technology for the Aike T unlocks the scooter when the rider’s phone is within close proximity to the scooter for enhanced user experience.

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• Tier released a new CSR report showing that 48M kilometers of car miles traveled have been replaced by its rentable small EVs since 2018.
• A bike thief with an angle grinder can cut through a D-lock and steal your $4,000 cargo bike in 40 seconds. The Litelok X lock claims to keep your ebike more secure with 15x more protection than competitor locks.
• Joyride is launching a new delivery platform to help companies grow and manage a fleet of electric scooters, bikes, and mopeds.
• Can mid-drive motor ebikes be affordable? Lectric says yes with the XPremium.

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• The Irish are getting serious about micromobility as the Minister for Transport announces tax refunds of up to €3,000 for ebike purchases, a strong focus on improving infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians, and pushing for more cargo ebikes for last-mile delivery.
• “Even though we're a motoring organisation, that doesn't mean you need to use your motor all the time,” The president of the UK Automobile Association recognizes that when people use other modes of transport, it creates a better experience for everyone on city streets.
• In collaboration with Argo AI , Waymo adopts League of American Bicyclists technical guidelines to address bicycle and pedestrian safety issues for autonomous vehicle technology.
• Ayro unveils the Vanish LSV, designed for last-mile delivery and commercial utility applications. The Vanish is one of the more affordable utility EVs that are fully assembled in the US.

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• Ola launched its entry-level S1 Air scooter with an introductory price of 79,000 RS ($960) to appeal to broader markets across India.
• “In Bogotá, building the network of lanes cost around $130 million. But people who ride instead of drive are saving around $80 million. Also, the exercise that people get from riding prevents an estimated 300 deaths a year, and has a benefit of around $230 million. ”Bogata, Colombia proves that building quality bike infrastructure is a sound investment for the city.
• Browse the best jobs in micromobility—and post your own—on our Jobs to Be Done board!

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New Blog

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Is Micromobility Disruptive?

"The outcome of a successful disruption is that entrants displace incumbents in terms of profitability, relegating former leaders to trailing positions or forcing them to exit the market completely."

Horace Dediu explores the idea that micromobility is a disrupter to the automobile industry

Read It Here

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Ride Review

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Jack Rabbit - The tiny but mighty ebike gives you mobility anywhere you go.

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The Grunt - This beast of an electric motorcycle will take you through any terrain.

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Onewheel GT - The most premium Onewheel yet with a 750W hub motor.

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To see reviews on more ebikes, scooters, electric skateboards, NEVs, and mopeds, visit Ride Review.

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