California on brink of scooter ban

Biden backs micromobility, Tier wants its customers to charge its scooters, and Guinness certifies the world’s lightest e-bike.

Hello and welcome to the Micromobility Newsletter, a weekly missive about mobility, mostly mobility in cities by small electric vehicles like bikes and scooters. The reason you’re reading this email is that you signed up on our website or came to one of our events.

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The Helium Network helps micromobility companies solve connectivity and tracking challenges without expensive cellular plans—connecting low-bandwidth devices like bikes, scooters, and skateboards over long ranges and optimized for extended battery life. With blockchain-based technology and a pay-for-usage model, companies can send more data than before, highlighting popular routes and staying compliant in the cities they operate.

Try the Helium Evaluation Kit, designed for tracking applications, and check out the recent Webinar Helium hosted with Micromobility Industries to learn more.

What you need to know this week

  • The California Assembly advanced legislation this week that would, in effect, end scooters, bikes, and moped rentals in the state. A new bill called AB-1286 prohibits shared micromobility operators from using liability waivers, the same waivers used for renting a car or buying a gym membership. Without these waivers, private micromobility companies, as well as public bike-share systems like San Francisco’s Bay Wheels, could be held liable for all kinds of rider accidents, including those caused by poor road conditions, reckless driving, and rider negligence. Few, if any, insurance companies could cover scooter and bike rentals under those circumstances, which would force most micromobility companies out of California. If AB-1286 has enough votes to pass in the Senate, it could become a law as soon as this week.

  • To be clear, under California’s current system, scooter riders who sign liability waivers still have the right to seek compensation for crashes that are caused by faulty hardware. Case and point, Lime and Bird are facing separate lawsuits in California right now that allege that they failed to properly maintain their scooters, leading to accidents.

  • That’s not all the transportation drama that’s happening in California right now. This week, Lyft said it would exit the state rather than comply with a new law that requires ride-hailers to classify their drivers as employees, then reversed course when a judge granted the company an emergency stay on the order. Now Lyft and Uber have until October to convince the court to overturn the ruling or get out.

  • A German mechanical engineer set a new Guinness World Record for the lightest electric bike prototype with his 15.15 lbs Freicycle.

  • The e-bike revolution continues. In June, US sales were up 190% compared to last year.

  • Bolt Bikes, a platform that leases electric bikes to self-employed delivery workers, raised $11 million in Series A round led by Australian Clean Energy Finance Corporation and changed its name to Zoomo.

  • A new analysis by Experts Group predicts that two million cargo bikes will be sold annually by 2030, half for commercial use and half for personal.

  • On Monday, Tier announced plans to build a European network of charging stations for its next-gen scooter. Soon Tier users will be able to earn ride credits after a trip by bringing their scooter battery to one of the company’s charging kiosks, located at shops, cafes, and other public places. The program, which will launch next week in the Finnish city of Tampere, is aimed at reducing the amount of money the Berlin-based company spends on paying people to pick up its scooters in vans and bring them to warehouses to charge. (In addition to a battery that can be unlocked and removed via app, Tier’s updated scooter will also feature a blinker and a compartment to store a foldable helmet.)

  • Citymapper and ScootRoute both launched turn-by-turn micromobility directions this week.

  • Spin launched a scooter trial in Milton Keynes, its first city in the UK.

  • Populus put together a massive report on all the different permitting, fees, and incentives structures that cities have adopted to manage micromobility.

  • Chinese micromobility manufacturer Yadea saw its earnings grow at least 90% in the first half of 2020, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and a successful ad campaign featuring actor Vin Diesel.

  • A Joe Biden campaign ad released the same day as gave his acceptance speech at the DNC touted micromobility as a solution to climate change.

Pod people

“If micromobility does nothing more than save time and money, it’s not going to amount to all that much.”

On a new episode of the podcast, Horace Dediu talks to Oliver Bruce about how we haven’t yet found the right way to measure what micromobility is good for.

Jobs to be done

Welcome to our jobs board, where every week we post new career openings in hopes of connecting our readers with professional opportunities in the burgeoning world of new mobility. Find out who’s hiring below and sign up for the newsletter to view fresh listings every week.