Micromobility post-COVID 🚲

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the micromobility industry, which was predicted to reach $500BN by 2030 in a research report by McKinsey from 2019. The stark reality is that after the pandemic hit, passengers per kilometers traveled fell 60% worldwide, and the need for lightweight vehicles such as scooters, bicycles, and mopeds declined rapidly.

🛑Brakes slammed
At the start of the pandemic, scooter and e-bike startups such as Wheels, Lime and Bird all slammed the brakes on expansion plans, announcing layoffs in preparation for the worst. Even Lyft scaled back its scooter business, ending its operations in Oakland, Austin, and San Jose.

🚦A positive green light
But it hasn’t been completely negative. After mass transit usage plummeted in cities like New York due to the coronavirus pandemic, the use of bicycles and shared mobility has steadily increased. Bike lanes are being zoned off all around the world as commuters who do have to go back to work want to avoid public transportation.

• Electric mopeds business Revel is expanding into e-bike rentals for $99/month. 
• New York City Department of Transportation is also piloting an e-scooter rental program in the Bronx. 
• E-bikes sales grew 145% in 2020 compared to 2019 according to market research firm NPD Group. 
• Lyft’s bike-sharing fleets in nine US cities, including New York City and Chicago, have thrived during the pandemic.
• Indego’s Philadelphia bike-sharing system promises to double in size, with half its fleet electric over the next five years.
• Bolt Mobility, which offers electric bikes and scooters in 21 cities and college campuses, is looking to develop electric mopeds and other micromobility transportation vehicles. 

💗Renewed interest
Despite the economic uncertainty as well as the growing pains of many of these startups, investors remain optimistic about micromobility and how it can help transportation systems become more resilient to future shocks and stress. In the long term, many studies anticipate that cities will de-incentivize cars and prioritize other micromobility infrastructure.

• Bolt Bike raised $11MM in August 2020.
• Lime received a $170MM boost in May 2020 from companies like Uber and Google.
• Norweigan e-bike seller VanMoof raised a Round B funding of $40MM in September 2020.