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Bird will expand access to electric scooters for public transit in Nashville
The city is hoping to boost adoption of eco-friendly transit options.
Segway-Ninebot adds electric scooter, moped options
Ninebot acquired Segway and its personal transports a few years ago, but now their combined transportation aspirations are growing up with two devices announced at an event in China ahead of CES 2020. The Ninebot eMoped and eScooter can both carry riders for miles and will come in a range of models to suit different needs. The eMoped (above) is described as a "smart electric bike" that comes in three versions, with a keyless airlock system that lets riders unlock it and take off by unlocking it with NFC. Its storage compartment is big enough to hold one helmet inside, and the high-end C80 model can travel up to 46 miles on a charge with the 24Ah battery inside.
Uber tests a $25 Pass that covers Eats and transportation
Uber is testing a subscription option that offers all-inclusive or discounted access to all its services. It's trialing a few variants of the plan in Chicago and San Francisco. All of them include trips on Jump e-bikes and scooters at no extra cost, free Uber Eats deliveries and a fixed discount on Uber rides for $24.99/month. In other locales, Uber is testing cheaper passes that include free Uber Eats deliveries above a certain order threshold as well as discounted rides.
Boosted’s Rev scooter is an inconveniently fun powerhouse
Boosted made its name by becoming the de facto electric skateboard. When rumors emerged that the company was working on a scooter, I had mixed feelings. I worried Boosted might bring out a me-too product and, well, scooters tend to be a little dorky. When the $1,599 Rev was finally revealed earlier this year, I was proved wrong (at least about the first part). The Rev is clearly inspired by San Francisco, the city Boosted calls home. Most garden-variety scooters offer somewhere between 250 and 500 watts of power. At the high end, that's enough to get you up some pretty decent inclines, but you'll feel every slow, meandering yard. The Rev offers a whopping 1,500 watts.
New York set to legalize e-scooters and e-bikes
New York lawmakers look set to legalize electric scooter and bike sharing services throughout the state. A vote on a Senate bill is likely to take place Wednesday, just before the end of the legislative session. Since Governor Andrew Cuomo seems to support the legalization of electric scooters and bikes, the bill looks likely to come into effect.
Boosted's next electric ride is the Rev scooter
When Boosted launched a new series of boards in 2018, including the Stealth and Mini options, it claimed its mission was to redefine transportation -- at least from the electric rideable standpoint. Now, it's finally broken out beyond the skateboard mold and added the Boosted Rev electric scooter to its stable of products.
Bird's new program lets local operators run their own scooter network
Bird's e-scooters are on their way to Canada, Latin America and New Zealand under a program that allows local business owners to set up their own networks. The company is opening up Bird Platform, which it first announced in November. Operators of the local networks can obtain scooters at cost, allow customers to find the vehicles through the Bird app and take advantage of the company's technology to help manage their business. In exchange, Bird is taking a 20 percent cut of revenue from each ride.
Unagi's high-end electric scooter is a mix of design and power
I place one foot onto the narrow deck and briskly push with the other. As I press a lever with my right thumb, the handlebars I'm gripping jolt forward. Fortunately, the handlebars aren't attached to a speedboat -- they're part of the Unagi scooter I have just tried for the first time. At 15.5 mph, it's not the fastest scooter (some can reach nearly double that), but it's likely one of the most capable at hills (more on this later). Potentially a big selling point here in The Bay Area with its notorious inclines.
Bird launches UK's first scooter sharing service on one London path
London faces some of the biggest transport problems in the world, but one startup thinks its electric scooter scheme could be the solution -- as long as it can get around the UK's draconian vehicle laws. US company Bird is set to launch the UK's first scooter-hire service in the capital, but it's only got permission to do so along a single path in the east London Olympic Park.
Lime will reportedly test car-sharing service in Seattle
Bike- and scooter-sharing startup Lime is looking to test car rentals in Seattle, according to a report from The Information. Lime, which launched in early last year and operates in markets across 26 US states, has boasted that its scooters have taken cars off the road in cities where it operates. Now, it's reaching for a piece of the growing car-sharing market with a small host of around 500 cars made by Fiat Chrysler. There's no concrete date set for when Lime will begin offering the new service, but an application submitted to Seattle's car-sharing program in October indicates it could happen very soon.
Lyft's first electric scooters arrive in Denver
Lyft is making moves in the electric scooter market, as it is bringing the dockless devices to Denver, the first US city in which it will operate its scooter service. Lyft has permits to operate scooters and electric bikes in the Colorado city, and it's starting out with the former. Around 100 scooters will be centered in areas that are underserved by public transport, helping commuters get to bus and train stops more easily -- the Lyft app will soon alert you when you're close to a stop.
Uber will let users rent Lime scooters through its app
Lime is teaming up with Uber to let you rent electric scooters through the ridesharing giant's app. Uber is also investing in Lime as part of a $335 million funding round led by Google parent company Alphabet's venture capital arm GV that takes Lime into unicorn territory with a $1.1 billion valuation. The company will use the investment to buy tens of thousands more scooters.
Lyft may be getting into the electric scooter game
Lyft seems to be eyeing a move into the electric scooter craze -- the company is considering applying for a permit to run a service in San Francisco, The Information reported, and it's in the early stages of working on prototypes. Some companies like Bird, Lime and Spin already have scooters on the city's streets, but a established brand like Lyft making inroads could change the market drastically, opening the gateway for more big names.
iPhone will be the dashboard in next generation e-scooters
If you want proof of just how closely our smartphones will integrate with our cars in the near future, look no further than all the Siri Eyes Free support automakers are offering in next year's models. But those of us with mopeds and scooters shouldn't feel left out either. Though not quite Siri Eyes Free-level of coolness, the next-generation e-scooters coming out in 2014 will allow your iPhone to act as the digital dashboard of your two-wheeled ride. As 9to5Mac points out, two major e-scooter manufacturers, Smart and Terra Motors, will bring 2014 models to market that will enable the driver to insert their iPhone directly into the dashboard, and from it view their speed, range, GPS location and any other number of indicators that can fit on the iPhone's screen. And perhaps this is just some geeky fantasizing on my part, but if Apple would add a fingerprint sensor to the next iPhone, it's conceivable that the iPhone could also be used as the ignition key in these next-generation e-scooters.
Suzuki Burgman fuel-cell scooter approved for EU public consumption
Battery power gets a lot of publicity these days, what with YikeBike and Yogo EVs tooling around. However, that doesn't mean other kinds of ecofriendly propulsion, like fuel cells, won't be part of our transportational future. Suzuki, for one, is betting on hydrogen power -- its Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter just became the first fuel cell vehicle to receive Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) from the UK's Department of Transport. Having the WVTA stamp of approval means that the scooter meets EU performance standards and can be sold in Europe -- setting it free to frolic hither and yon on the cobblestone streets of the old country. No word on plans to bring it to the US, but a boy can dream, can't he? PR's after the break.
