Micromobility 2024
Friends,
Hope the new year is off to a great start for you! I am sad to report that we shut down Superpedestrian operations at the end of 2023. It was an amazing ride with terrific and talented people! I will miss working with everyone on such a meaningful mission. Thankful for Assaf Biderman and the whole ride or die team at Superpedestrian that was in it until the very end. Also grateful for all the folks who joined over the years to build a best-in-class product and service in cities around the world. Wishing the best to the remaining companies in the micromobility space - live long and consolidate!
Lots of startup and industry lessons learned at Superpedestrian - and at every micromobility company these past few years. But cities should take away some lessons as well. The inconvenient truth is that cities need for shared micromobility to remain a viable mode of transportation. Shared micromobility companies have provided millions of rides, introducing many to the joy of riding bikes and scooters - a goal urbanists once longed to achieve. But micromobility companies cannot survive without fundamental changes to the regulatory environment. Cities must reduce the fees and regulatory burdens imposed on shared micromobility and invest in bike lane and parking infrastructure as they do in bus lanes and bus stops. Micromobility has great road geometry like public transit and appeals to a wider audience. Micromobility and public transit are both good for cities and together can serve more people with attractive options.
I’ve shared some thoughts on how cities and operators can work together in 2024 in The New Mobility Handbook 2024, recently published by SAE International. Look forward to further discussions with all of you about the role of micromobility and other new mobility technologies in cities.
Cheers,
Michele