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It makes sense and I'm actually surprised more micromobility providers haven't pulled out of less-profitable markets already. There's so much competition in th

It makes sense and I'm actually surprised more micromobility providers haven't pulled out of less-profitable markets already. There's so much competition in the space because the barrier to entry is quite low, leading to unit economics only making sense if a city is both 1) friendly to scooters in terms of regulations, and 2) an ideal use case for scooters in terms of density, weather, and demographics. It will also get worse if gig economy workers get classified as employees in more markets since chargers might fall under that category, bumping up the operating costs quite a bit.

doctorpangloss 7y ago
Lyft and Uber bought the scooters and bikes to kill them. They’re almost as good as driverless taxis. The only occupant of a bike or scooter is the passenger. Obviously they’re not the same thing technologically but when a passenger chooses a scooter or bike there is no driver to pay, so it’s economically very similar. Jump could get you anywhere in the city, it outcompeted rideshare. Uber literally doubled the price and stopped maintaining the fleet, it is in their interest to kill it. Lyft scooters like all scooters have an intense enemy action (vandalism) problem so I’m less confident it’s an embrace-extend-extinguish play. But how else could you rationalize wrecking a platform cheaper, more efficient and more convenient than cars that eliminates the driver? Drivers are not at all competitive with micro mobility.
- Terretta 7y ago
  Strongly agree... I see they are pulling out of PHX. With Lyft scooters everywhere in Scottsdale Old Town where’d the’ day launched this past spring, I was consistently able to get door to door from hotel to stores within ~2-3 miles in half the time on scooters vs. the latency of waiting for a car to show up. Since the area is one giant strip mall, most trips I had finished my errand and come back on scooter before an Uber or Lyft would have ‘completed prior ride’ and eventually found its badly navigated Waze to me. Local press reports how visitors love the scooters, locals (with cars) hated seeing them everywhere: ”Electric scooters aim to solve the last-mile problem—those gaps between public-transit stops and a person’s final destination. Some locals consider them a nuisance, but for travelers, they offer a new sense of possibility.” https://apple.news/Arr73LXB6RK-ECfAnzZixSw https://apple.news/Arr73LXB6RK-ECfAnzZixSw
- jquery 7y ago
  >Jump could get you anywhere in the city, it outcompeted rideshare. Assuming you're talking about San Francisco, the city limited the number of Jump bikes available: https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/01/ubers-jump-bike-fleet-may-soon-double-in-size-in-sf/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/01/ubers-jump-bike-fleet-may-... This may have affected Uber's strategy here.

doctorpangloss 7y ago

Lyft and Uber bought the scooters and bikes to kill them. They’re almost as good as driverless taxis. The only occupant of a bike or scooter is the passenger. Obviously they’re not the same thing technologically but when a passenger chooses a scooter or bike there is no driver to pay, so it’s economically very similar. Jump could get you anywhere in the city, it outcompeted rideshare. Uber literally doubled the price and stopped maintaining the fleet, it is in their interest to kill it. Lyft scooters like all scooters have an intense enemy action (vandalism) problem so I’m less confident it’s an embrace-extend-extinguish play. But how else could you rationalize wrecking a platform cheaper, more efficient and more convenient than cars that eliminates the driver? Drivers are not at all competitive with micro mobility.

Terretta 7y ago
Strongly agree... I see they are pulling out of PHX. With Lyft scooters everywhere in Scottsdale Old Town where’d the’ day launched this past spring, I was consistently able to get door to door from hotel to stores within ~2-3 miles in half the time on scooters vs. the latency of waiting for a car to show up. Since the area is one giant strip mall, most trips I had finished my errand and come back on scooter before an Uber or Lyft would have ‘completed prior ride’ and eventually found its badly navigated Waze to me. Local press reports how visitors love the scooters, locals (with cars) hated seeing them everywhere: ”Electric scooters aim to solve the last-mile problem—those gaps between public-transit stops and a person’s final destination. Some locals consider them a nuisance, but for travelers, they offer a new sense of possibility.” https://apple.news/Arr73LXB6RK-ECfAnzZixSw https://apple.news/Arr73LXB6RK-ECfAnzZixSw
jquery 7y ago
>Jump could get you anywhere in the city, it outcompeted rideshare. Assuming you're talking about San Francisco, the city limited the number of Jump bikes available: https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/01/ubers-jump-bike-fleet-may-soon-double-in-size-in-sf/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/01/ubers-jump-bike-fleet-may-... This may have affected Uber's strategy here.