Micromobility Newsletter for November 1, 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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Leaderboard Update: As we enter the second week of voting for the Rider’s Choice Awards, the competition is fierce. Thousands of ballots have been cast, but in many of the 30+ categories, the current leaders are ahead by only a few votes…

Make your voice heard asap by voting for your favorite companies and individuals, then remind your friends, followers, and colleagues to do the same (it’s OK to vote for yourself 💞). Finally, don’t forget to sign up for Micromobility World to see the winners announced live.

🗳 Vote now

🎟 Register for the awards ceremony (free for a short time!)

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Upcoming Webinar

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It’s not hard to understand why one of the biggest trends in micromobility right now is subscriptions. Consumers gravitate toward the leasing model for convenience and cost savings, and businesses are drawn to the recurring revenue and ease of scaling.

In our next live webinar and Q&A, we’ll investigate how micromobility businesses in pursuit of profit can unlock the benefits—and mitigate the risks—of HaaS, subscriptions, and leasing.

Register Today

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What You Need To Know This Week

• Are electric microcars the future of urban driving?
• Or will carmakers scale down their vehicles to human size? GMC is licensing the Hummer brand to an Indiana-based supplier of fat-tired ebikes. Which begs the question: When a company known for making enormous SUVs casts an intrigued glance at micromobility, should they be taken seriously?
• The California state legislature passed A.B. 371 “Kill Bike Share” bill, which could effectively kill shared micromobility by imposing extreme insurance requirements on operators.  
• This Swedish company makes sculptural, net-zero motorbikes through “metal origami.”

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• Is it possible for a micromobility operator to offer unlimited annual rides for $14 without subsidies? Stockholm’s bikeshare system is betting yes.
• In Southeast Asia, 85% of households own a motorbike, yet only 1% of those vehicles are electric. Arrow Electronics and Oyika are hoping to change that dynamic with regional battery swap and charging infrastructure.
• And in Latin America, the world’s second largest two-wheeler market after Southeast Asia, a startup called Leoparda Electric is attempting to build a battery-swapping network of its own.
• When Atlanta banned micromobility rentals at night, traffic got worse with the average travel time for evening car trips increasing 10%.

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Super Early Bird Ending Soon

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Quick PSA! Micromobility Europe is coming to Amsterdam on June 8-9, and right now for a few more days, you can score Super Early Bird tickets for only €195 - 87% less than General Admission.

Join micromobility’s top global builders, thinkers, and, leaders for an unprecedented two-day gathering the world capital of car independence.

Book Super Early Bird Tickets Here

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• This new electric bike from G-Force looks and rides like a motorcycle.
• The unkillable bike boom: Shimano says consumer demand for bike and ebike components is still higher than pre-covid levels.
• Honda filed patents for a tiny folding scooter with a seat, which appears to be optimized for sharing. The Japanese conglomerate is also getting into the battery-swapping business with a Gogoro-style charging kiosk and battery system that will debut in Tokyo, followed possibly by India.
• The Tesla Cyberquad for kids isn’t quite ready for primetime. About 5,000 of the electric ATVs are being recalled for safety concerns.

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• Bike libraries are boosting access to ebikes in cities across America.
• Automakers like Audi claim cellular vehicle-to-everything, or C-V2X, technology, can reduce traffic deaths by alerting drivers and cyclists if a collision is imminent.
• Yet another study confirms a disturbing link between motor vehicle emissions and dementia.
• Browse the best jobs in micromobility—and post your own—on our Jobs to Be Done board.

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Pod People

This week Oliver Bruce interviewed Sam Baker from Mobility Fund. Specifically, they discuss:

• Sam’s background with Wunder Mobility and what led to the formation of Mobility Fund
• What he is focused on at Mobility Fund, and where he is excited about opportunities
• Who his LPs are and why they are interested in this space
• What Sam thought of Micromobility America and what we can be doing to better tell the story of micro

Listen to Podcast

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Ride Review

Hiboy S11 - A lightweight, no-frills electric skateboard for under $220

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Wolf King GT Pro - This beast is the King of electric scooters

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Yuba Mundo - The Mundo is a long-tail, mid-drive cargo bike that can haul the whole family

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