Timothy B. Lee of the Understanding AI newsletter joins Ed Niedermeyer to unpack Tesla’s flashy robotaxi unveil.

In this episode of the Ride AI podcast, host Ed Niedermeyer interviews Anuja Sonalker, CEO of Steer Tech, to discuss a lesser-known success story in mobility technology. Anuja shares how Steer Tech, founded in 2016, specializes in low-speed, autonomous vehicle operations within geofenced areas like parking lots and depots. She explains that while parking automation was initially underestimated, it presents complex challenges requiring high precision and intelligence. Steer Tech developed the first fully autonomous Level 4 parking solution and has since expanded into broader vehicle orchestration systems. Their lean, customer-driven approach allowed them to achieve cashflow positivity by focusing on practical applications in fleet management, emphasizing operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability. Unlike many companies in the autonomous vehicle space, Steer Tech avoided big venture capital funding, choosing instead a more sustainable business model that balances innovation with profitability.

On this episode of Ride On! we are talking with Tyson Roehrkasse, the Chief Reviewer at our sister company, Ride Review. Tyson has been with us now for around 4 months and comes from a tremendous background in electric bike reviews, with the majority of his time spent working with Electric Bike Review, the OG of the ebike review space. 

Highlights: - 🚲 Reviews play a crucial role in the success of small electrical vehicles, with online reviews impacting pre-orders, investments, and revenue. - 🛵 The importance of local dealers and retailers in providing better customer experience and service for e-bike buyers. - 🌐 The rise of influencers in the scooter and one-wheel market, focusing on lifestyle and fun rather than technical attributes and formal reviews.

We also use this episode to make some announcements around Ride AI, a platform covering all the technology that moves us. We have started with a newsletter, you can subscribe at http://rideai.org and very soon we will be launching a Ride AI podcast with Ed Neidemeyer who has tirelessly covered the AV and vehicle tech landscape for over 15 years now. Finally, as part of the new launch, we will also be announcing our Ride AI Conference in Costa Mesa, CA the week of November 11th that will also coincide with Micromobility America. 

So big news there is 1) a new event Ride AI highlighting all the technology that moves us with our first ever event along with Micromobility America moving from the Bay Area to Southern California. 

Why Southern California? On top of the being the largest market in the United States for small electric vehicles we also think it represents the renaissance happening in the hard tech world both as it relates to AI and mobility. SoCal is home to incredible mobility history like Hughes AirForce Base, the first west coast refineries from Rockefeller and now home to SpaceX and many startups looking to change the way we move. 

We hope you buy tickets and join us at the event, go to Micromobility.io to learn more about it.

This week we release the interview that Horace did with Bird CEO/founder Travis VanderZanden at Micromobility World conference from January 2022. It was his first public appearance since Bird went public late last year and it is an instantly iconic exchange between two of the industry’s most important figures - Travis who catalyzed dockless electric scooters at Bird in California back in 2017 and Horace who coined the term micromobility. Travis and Horace discuss mega trends in micromobility and why, in their view, the industry still hasn’t produced a bike or scooter as impactful as the iPhone. Specifically they dig into: - Travis’s background in cell phones and ride-hail - The origins of Bird - Product and business model innovation in micromobility - The chicken-and-egg problem of infrastructure - How cities can accelerate micromobility adoption faster. It’s an awesome discussion, and one you can only hear here on the Micromobility Podcast. Thanks very much for listening!

This week Oliver interviews Mina Nada, CEO of Zoomo (formerly Bolt Bikes, featured on episode 66), about their business leasing ebikes to delivery gig workers like UberEATS/Deliveroo/DoorDash in the UK, US and Australia. The business has massively expanded in the last 18 months, and Mina has managed to drive a lot of that growth remotely while he’s been locked down in Australia. It’s an awesome story - don’t miss it. Specifically, they dig into: - for the uninitiated, a brief background on the story of Bolt Bikes and now Zoomo, and why electric bikes are compelling for delivery/B2B. - Where they’ve seen the most growth in the last 18 months. - Zoomo works directly with the delivery companies, so we unpack how integrated into their signup flow the company can you be. - Zoomo have started releasing their own hardware, so they unpack more about the vehicles and what they’ve learnt in doing that. - On episode 66, Mina indicated he had no interest in going for consumers. They explore whether that view has changed at all. - You've raised a few rounds of funding since the last conversation. They talk about the fundraising landscape and what has/has not changed. - One thing that the MM team was massively impressed by in the first interview was Zoomo’s capacity to raise debt funding - felt like a real strategic advantage relative to other companies in the space and it's still relativley uncommon. They unpack why it’s still uncommon and who is doing it well/what needs to happen to make it common. It was a great discussion - well worth listening to!

This week Oliver joins Horace to talk about his latest blogpost about his new transport metric - A Modicum of Transport. Developing new metrics is in some ways a provocation to remap how we thinks of new things, and change the framework for how the incumbents are viewed. This is no different. Like the horsepower before it, or the byte or Monthly Active User, we are trying to develop new nomenclature, metrics and ratios that sit around this phenomenon called Micromobility. They discuss the name, and would love your feedback on the concept, especially if there’s a name that you feel might be easier or more intuitive to understand. Specifically they dig into: - The historical importance of James Watt’s Horsepower and generally industrial measurements - Why new words and metrics can help us reframe the conversations - What the implications of a low MoTz score is in a city context (hint, it’s like free flowing water vs. sewage) - The next steps for adoption

This week Oliver interviews Horace about his latest research on climate and micromobility, and his reflections on the recent COP26 meeting in Glasgow. Specifically, they dig into why micromobility wasn’t more prominently featured in the potential solutions provided by groups like the IEA, and how that matches up to the disruptive innovation framework. Specifically they get into: - His new research and modelling into the climate action opportunity that micromobility presents - The new IEA report and it’s reliance on new technology that they haven’t identified, and why Horace believes it will come from micromobility (link to summary here: https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-transport) - The challenges of technology disruption intersecting with policy makers who require proven and de-risked methods

In today’s episode, Oliver interviews Ties Carlier, the co-CEO and cofounder of Vanmoof to talk about the new Vanmoof V, which is one of the most beautiful ebikes at Micromobility Industries have ever seen and is due to drop next year. It’s a lot faster and more powerful than anything they’ve done before, and this was a great chat about that design decision and why Ties thinks we need to get more creative and lateral in how we think about what micromobility vehicles can do and should be regulated. Ties is based in Taiwan, which manufactures most of the world’s ebikes, so they also briefly touch base on that too. We’ve had his brother Taco (co-CEO of Vanmoof) on shows 53 and 74 so also check those out if you want to hear more about the Vanmoof story. Specifically they dig into:
- Ties’ background starting the company with his brother Taco and his move to Taiwan.
- the new V - what, why, when and why they chose to go for speed over other potential design opportunities
- how the launch of the S3/X3 went and what Vanmoof learned in the process
- hiring/building teams remotely for micromobility and how much Vanmoof has grown in the last year - what he’s excited about in the coming years in terms of product and tech in micromobility

This week Oliver interviews Enrico Howe and Alex Gmelin from Invers (@Inversmobility) about the 2021 Global Moped Sharing Report. Oliver interviewed Enrico on the show in episode 52 for the 2019 version and it was great to have him back and get an update two years later on about the state of moped sharing globally. It included some incredible and crazy stats – the mopeds sharing industry has transitioned to electric at a dizzying pace in the last two years. We’re looking forward to hearing commentary about it on Twitter - please drop us a line at @MicromobilityCo, @oliverbruce and @asymco. Specifically they dig into: - How INVERS and the Global Moped Sharing Report came to work together - The current state: What are the top line figures/key insights/developments? - What are the main markets and how did they develop? - Which cities are hotspots for moped sharing? - What vehicles are used for sharing and what are the trends? - What are latest developments in charging infrastructure and battery management? - Urban mobility planning: how is regulation affecting the market? - Look into the future: what do we expect for the next two years? In the meantime we want to thank our sponsor for the episode Ubiq. Ubiq is turning operations from reactive to predictive. Most shared mobility businesses are not profitable, as 60%-80% of the demand is not met. Ubiq places vehicles in the right place, at the right time, to meet demand. This enables operators to increase revenue by 20% within 8 weeks while also decreasing operational costs. Most shared operators react in order to meet demand, instead of predicting and exploiting the full capacity of their fleet. StreetCrowd is enabling over 15.000 citizens across 11 cities on 2 continents to address that issue by matching vehicles requiring rebalancing or charging with crowd users, allowing shared mobility providers to automate operations. Therefore, mobility operators can utilize decentralized operations that run 24/7, across the city, turning operations from reactive to predictive. Best part? It’s plug and play and you can get started right away. Get in touch to find out more by clicking this link: https://l.linklyhq.com/l/eNgL

This week we’re releasing another interview from the Micromobility America conference. Laura Bliss from Bloomberg interviews Ben Bear, CEO of Spin (and guest on MM episode 73), about where sharing is going next after a COVID 19 put the brakes on it. Spin is one of the more interesting companies with the relatively crowded shared Micromobility field being owned by Ford, and pursuing a slow and steady strategy focussed around things like charging infrastructure. It’s a great discussion. Specifically they dig into: - The challenges that COVID-19 has posed to the industry - What of the big problems - regulatory, unit economics, safety - still need to be solved - What cities are thinking about - Their expansion globally In the meantime, thanks to the sponsor for the episode Ubiq. Ubiq is closing the gap between supply and demand. Most shared mobility businesses are not profitable, as 60%-80% of the demand is not met. Ubiq places vehicles in the right place, at the right time, to meet demand. This enables operators to increase revenue by 20% within 8 weeks while also decreasing operational costs. How? By exploiting the full potential of your fleet. StreetCrowd is enabling over 15.000 citizens across 11 cities on 2 continents to contribute to the future of shared mobility. StreetCrowd matches vehicles requiring rebalancing or charging with crowd users, allowing shared mobility providers to automate operations. In other words, mobility operators have access to scalable, decentralized operations that run 24/7, across the city. Best part? It’s plug and play and you can get started right away. Get in touch to find out more! 
 
https://l.linklyhq.com/l/cxIZ

This week Oliver interviews Eric Qwidwenus-Wahlforss, Founder and CEO of Dance. When we first heard that the founders of SoundCloud had got into electric bikes we wondered how does the world of software paralleled across to the world of hardware and electric bikes. But Eric puts up a convincing argument and Dance has made a splash with their launch. This is a great conversation about the nature of how the industry has changed over time and how the business model of micromobility parallels to a lot of other subscription Internet businesses. Specifically, they dig into: * The backstory to Dance, including Eric’s background at Soundcloud in Berlin and the climate motivations for starting Dance * Why they chose the rental business model, and what that enables * More about the bike and the service, and how they see competition * The reception to date * The challenges and ease of fundraising and what has changed in the space over time * Manufacturing in an era of COVID

This week we’re releasing the first of the content from the recent Micromobility America conference. In this interview, Lauren Goode from Wired interviews Andrew Yang who was one of the headline speakers. Lauren and Andrew talk about Forward, his new American political party, before moving on to talk about role of micromobility in the future of transport. It’s a great conversation and we in the team really appreciate it when politicians have such progressive takes and are willing to embrace technology in transport like this. Specifically they dig into: - Andrew’s new political party, Forward, and why its important - How local, state and federal regulations play a part in Micromobility’s future - How many scooters Andrew owns - Why micromobility is important for health, both mental and physical - The need for cities to better accomodate these new modes - Why he likes small companies and innovation, and why micromobility is well suited to this - The challenges of electrifying other parts of the fleets. - The links between UBI and micromobility

This week Oliver interviews one of his heroes in the urbanist space, Gabe Klein. Gabe has successfully managed to successfully operate in both the private and public sectors, as one of the first execs at Zipcar, helping form the company that became Car2Go and then was appointed head of DOT in both Washington DC and Chicago. He has a great grounding in the space and understands what works and what doesn’t in cities giving him great perspective of what micromobility offers to the cities and urban transport conversation. It was a wonderful conversation - more like a catch up with a friend than an interview. The team hopes you enjoy! Specifically they dig into: - His background starting in bikes, moving on to Zipcar/what became Car2Go - His move into city government - both DC and then Chicago - and what he learned there around the challenges/opportunities to help shape cities and their transport systems - What he thinks micromobility offers to the transport conversation - both owned and shared - on the variables of cost, speed, convenience, joy and safety. - What he thinks the industry in general has done poorly/needs to improve on. - Whether he believes that micromobility has an integral part in the future of transport both in the US and globally, and what needs to be developed to unlock that potential. Our sponsor for the episode is UBCO. UBCO is accelerating the global transition to electric mobility by designing the world’s toughest electric utility vehicles. Engineered and tested in New Zealand, now adopted by consumers and businesses globally, UBCO’s rugged all-wheel-drive two-wheeler stands out in the lightweight electric vehicle category. As appetite grows for sustainable transport options, UBCO provides utility EVs that are tough, versatile, safe and connected. We interviewed their founder Tim on episode 96, and we were honoured to have them on stage at the recent micromobility America event in the Bay Area on the 23rd of September.  Thanks for their support of the show.

Arnold Kamler, CEO of Kent International, discusses the evolution of his family's three generations of the bicycle business from its inception in 1906 to the present day. The journey includes the transition from retail to wholesale, adapting to market trends like racing and mountain bikes, overcoming challenges during the financial crisis and COVID-19, manufacturing in the US, moving it to Europe, then to Chin and then back to the US all the while remaining resilient in a dynamic industry that has now gone electric.

Timeline:

• 🚴 1906: Arnold's grandfather arrives in the U.S. and opens up his first bike shop in the Lower East Side.
• 🛠️ Early 1920s: The family moves the business to New Jersey.
• 📈 1947: Post-WWII, Arnold's father shifts the business from retail to wholesale.
• 🌎 1950s-60s: The company adapts to changing markets, beginning to import bikes from Europe and then Asia.
• 🏁 1970s: Kent International experiences a boom with the popularity of racing/road bikes, starting in California.
• 🚵‍♂️ 1990s: The company adapts to the mountain bike craze and faces the challenges of globalization and competition from China.
• 💸 2008: The financial crisis impacts the business, leading to strategic pricing and inventory adjustments.
• 🌐 2010s: Kent International focuses on e-commerce and begins exploring the electric bike market.
• 📉 2020-21: The COVID-19 pandemic causes a surge and then a sudden drop in demand, impacting inventory management.
• 🌿 Present Day: Kent International remains a resilient player in the bicycle industry, adapting to current market trends and consumer needs.

Other Highlights:

• 🌍 Global Expansion: Kent International's strategic shift to importing and later manufacturing in China.
• 🚀 Growth: Significant growth in the 1970s, reaching new heights in the 2000s with major retail partnerships.
• 🛠️ Manufacturing Innovations: Experimentation with different bike designs and materials, adapting to changing consumer preferences.
• 🛍️ Retail Shifts: Adjusting strategies to cope with the rise of e-commerce and direct-to-consumer sales.
• 🚲 Industry Trends: Continuous adaptation to industry trends like electric bikes and changing consumer habits.

This week Oliver interviews Jaideep Dhanoa, Founder and CEO of Fenix, about his experience within the micromobility industry across Asia and the Middle East. Jaideep is an absolute OG of the space. They talk about his experiences with the Chinese bikeshare boom while at Grab, his move back to the Middle East with Circ and now his efforts with Fenix. They talk Turkey which is a market that hasn’t been on the radar till now, but could well become the next Paris or Seoul. It's a great conversation and they really hope you enjoy as much as they did.  Specifically they dig into: - Jaideep’s background at Grab working on micromobility integrations, and why that foretold the future explosion of the sector. - His journey back to the Middle East and his efforts with Circ and then the rise from the ashes of Fenix. - The challenges and opportunities for the rise of micromobility in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). - The significance of the funding rounds that they’ve received. - The largest markets across the Middle East and Central Asia. - Why Istanbul is the most interesting emergent market for micromobility, and what Fenix is doing to secure their position there. - Jaideep’s reflections on the overall space globally, and where he thinks we’ll get to in 5 years. Our sponsor for the episode is Ubiq. Ubiq is making shared mobility profitable. Most shared mobility businesses are not profitable, as 60%-80% of the demand is not met. Ubiq is automating rebalancing operations to ensure vehicles are in the right place, at the right time, to meet demand. This enables operators to increase revenue by 20% within 8 weeks while also decreasing operational costs. The solution? Automated Rebalancing and Charging as a Service. Ensuring EV fleets remain charged is a major challenge for shared mobility and, if not managed effectively, can be a huge drag on revenues. Ubiq’s Charging as a Service gives you a head start by automating the charging process; its predictive engine is combined with crowdsourced operational execution to provide easily scalable charging operations. This leads to an efficient charging process that will have a major impact on revenue boosting. Best part? It’s plug and play and you can get started right away. Get in touch to find out more here: https://l.linklyhq.com/l/c3iX

Hey team, this week Oliver interviews Olaf Sakkers about his new book, Mobility Disruption Framework. Olaf is one of the General Partners at Redblue Capital, a new mobility venture investment firm that he founded. Prior to this, he was at Maniv Mobility for 6 years with Michael Granoff, a friend of Micromobility Industries and a previous guest on the podcast. This is one of our favourite episodes. Olaf’s work feels seminal, which is always a good place to start from. It covers a lot of the same ideas covered on this podcast all in one, coherent and cogent framework, and helped us really get our head around concepts that we’ve been thinking about for years but have struggled to  articulate. We cannot recommend it highly enough.  Thank you to Reilly Brennan for putting us onto it via his excellent Future of Transportation weekly newsletter. Specifically they talk about: Olaf’s history with Maniv Mobility and his new venture Redblue. The origins of the Mobility Disruption framework and its audience. Why Olaf is bullish on hydrogen for vehicles. His framework around CATS and DOGs and why the dematerialisation of transport matters His framework for Throughput Construction Cost, which in our opinion is revolutionary. _________________ In the meantime. The next Micromobility America conference is now scheduled for the 23rd of September. It’ll be at the Craneway in Richmond, across the bay from San Francisco and have more than 50 top speakers from the industry, more than 1000 global participants and 500+ startups and brands represented. If you love this space and want to find your tribe here, head to micromobility.io to find out more details.

This week Oliver interviews Horace about his recent thoughts on the impact of lithium ion batteries on power tools and how the market and products have developed. He also spawns a new framework: batteries we carry, batteries that carry us and batteries that carry themselves. It’s Horace at his best - riffing and letting his brain do what it does. In the meantime, make sure that you get your tickets for Micromobility America, the world’s largest summit devoted to small electric vehicles. It returns to the SF Bay Area on September 23, 2021 for an immersive, in-person gathering. The team are hellbent on breaking the old paradigm of car dependency and getting the world moving again, safely and sustainably. The event will be a jam-packed day of talks, demos, meetings, and test rides with micromobility’s top global founders, policymakers, investors, and influencers. Meet over 500 startups and established players, test the latest technology and vehicles for the first time in nearly two years. It’ll take advantage of the beautiful California weather, doing as much as possible outdoors and headliners include political upstart Andrew Yang, veteran tech reporter Lauren Goode, and e-scooter racing trailblazer Lucas Di Grassi, and dozens more. Check it out more at micromobility.io.  The sponsor of the episode is Segway Commercial, the sharing business division of Segway-Ninebot. Their job is to help people and companies launch their own micro-mobility business. No matter the size or location of your scooter fleet, their mission is to make shared micro-mobility simpler and more accessible to all. They will be bringing a full line of electric vehicles to Micromobility America and encourage listeners to reserve their test ride. They’ll have their full range, such as Segway’s IoT-enabled e-Bike and e-Moped, and their full line of shared scooters featuring latest AI technologies, including T60 & T60 lite.  To RSVP your test ride, please click on this link (https://b2b.segway.com/mma2021).

Today Oliver interviews Michael Dunne, founder of Zozogo, former VP of JD Power in China, GM of General Motors Indonesia and host of the Winning in Asia podcast which covers the auto sector in China. Mike has a huge depth of experience in China, which is an area that the team haven’t covered as much as we’d like on this show. The conversation gave rise to a lot of discussions about the lay of the land in the Chinese auto sector, the role of the Chinese auto sector in Micromobility and how micromobility will need to change to see adoption from those who are coming from poverty into wealth and are looking for highly performant and high status vehicles. It’s a great discussion and one that we think you’ll really enjoy. Specifically they dig into: - Mike’s background and how a kid from Detroit ended up in China in the 1990s. - the Dynamics of the local Chinese car industry, including a breakdown of local vs joint ventures vs Tesla.  - what (totally crazy!) excess capacity in the auto sector looks like and why that might matter for Micromobility  - the top down vs bottom up nature of industry in China, and why the incentives matter. - infrastructure in China - roading vs existing Micromobility - the cultural enablers and disablers for Micromobility in China - and why Micromobility will struggle in the quest for status In the meantime. The next Micromobility America conference is now scheduled for the 23rd of September. It’ll be at the Craneway in Richmond, across the bay from San Francisco and have more than 50 top speakers from the industry, more than 1000 global participants and 500+ startups and brands represented. If you love this space and want to find your tribe here, head to micromobility.io to find out more details.

Today Oliver interviews Kyle Doerksen, founder/CEO of Onewheel, about the companies journey. Kyle has been in the space since the very beginning and epitomises the builder mentality - having tinkered with lots of components back in the late 2000’s to build his first prototypes. They also talk a lot about funding and manufacturing as OneWheel has taken quite a different approach to others in the space in the USA. This video is also up as a Youtube video, complete with images of the vehicle as well. Specifically, they dig into: * The origins of Onewheel/Kyle’s background and motivation for starting the company * The vehicles and where they're finding a market including the breakdown between commuters and recreational users. * How Kyle thinks about community building, including Onewheel racing events. * How they think about countering the learning curve for the vehicle and their target demographic. * What the market for funding etc. has been like on your journey since the late 2000’s and why Kyle is a fan of bootstrapping. * What Kyle’s excited about in the micromobility space

Today, Oliver interviews Erdem Ovacik, CEO of Donkey Republic, the first shared micromobility player to go public globally. Donkey Republic is listed on the Nasdaq First North exchange in the Nordics. It’s a great discussion about how the market has evolved, and why they see increasingly tight cooperation with governments being the next phase of shared market developments. Specifically, they dig into: - the backstory of Donkey, including where the name came from and the development of the bikeshare market in Europe - Donkey’s unique approach of being both an operator and SaaS business and the economics of the varying parts of the business. - Why they’ve pursued a ‘virtual dock’ solution rather than just straight free-float and what that’s enabled them as a business. - Why they see the growth of the business being in publicly funded bike share systems in the EU. - How their valuation compares to other companies in the shared space, and what the reception of investors has been like. - what the listing has provided them in terms of options and what the costs have been ___________________ Thanks to our sponsor for the episode, Ubiq, who is making shared mobility profitable with data-driven services to automate operations and ensure vehicles are in the right place, at the right time, to meet demand. Ubiq’s customers have increased revenue by 20% while also decreasing operational costs. Ubiq offers services including Automated Rebalancing and Charging as a Service (ChaaS), using the power of the crowd to exploit the full potential fleets. The StreetCrowd also service matches vehicles requiring repositioning, or charging with crowd users, allowing shared mobility providers to automate operations.  Ubiq is also increasing the efficiency of ops teams, by helping identify underutilized vehicles. With its plug-in forecasting models one can easily see where improvements can be made. Ubiq’s systems are plug and play and you can get started right away. Check them out at Ubiq.ai. _________________ The next Micromobility America conference is now scheduled for the 23rd of September. It’ll be in Pier 70 in San Francisco and have more than 50 top speakers from the industry, more than 1000 global participants and 500+ startups and brands represented. If you love this space and want to find your tribe here, head to micromobility.io to find out more details.

This week Oliver interviews Richard Thorpe, CEO of Gocycle. Gocycle are the world’s premier electric folding bike manufacturer, and Richard has been at the game longer than most, starting to work on the project back in the early 2000’s. In this episode, they dig into the history of the company, why folding matters in a multimodal future, and the importance of vehicle weight. Specifically: - Richard’s background at Mclaren and how that informed his view on weight - The challenge of building an electric bike company in the 2000s - What matters for consumers, and how that informs how they bring their bikes to market - The new G4 range, and what that offers over prior models - What has helped and hindered with marketing Also, the next Micromobility America conference is now scheduled for the 23rd of September. It’ll be in Pier 70 in San Francisco and have more than 50 top speakers from the industry, more than 1000 global participants and 500ish startups and brands represented. If you love this space and want to find your tribe here, head to micromobility.io to find out more details.

This week, Oliver and Horace interview Amir Haleem, CEO of Helium, about the rise of distributed telco infrastructure. This was originally recorded for the Critical Path, but given that Amir has been a guest on the podcast in the past and there’s a direct link between what they’re building and low cost connectivity for micromobility, we wanted to share here as well. If you’re interested in Helium and wondering how it sits within the telecommunication industry business model, this is a great episode. Specifically they dig into: - The Helium model for telco and what problem they were trying to solve. - Why Horace calls this the first 'useful crypto' he's found. - Horace talks about the traps of infrastructure financing, and ponders whether the Helium model invalidate these challenges. - Horace and Amir break down whether/how the model is disruptive to existing infrastructure. - They talk about the future challenges they can foresee, and how Helium will potentially react. Also, the next Micromobility America conference is now scheduled for the 23rd of September. It’ll be in Pier 70 in San Francisco and have more than 50 top speakers from the industry, more than 1000 global participants and 500ish startups and brands represented. If you love this space and want to find your tribe here, head to micromobility.io to find out more details.

This week we’re releasing an audio version of the recent Micromobility Membership webinar on low end micromobility that Oliver did with reporter Lavender Au and Nat Bullard, Head of Content at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. They discuss Lavender’s lauded RestofWorld article on low end micromobility in China. In lieu of full-size cars, Chinese commuters are flocking to tiny alternatives that look and perform more like golf carts or rickshaws than Teslas. In 2019, these low-cost, low-speed vehicles actually outsold traditional electric cars by 2 to 1. It’s a great discussion about how the sector these lightweight electric vehicles in China have emerged, and where they might fit into a global transport future going forward. It is an incredibly illuminating discussion about a topic that receives far too little press. Also, the next Micromobility America conference is now scheduled for the 23rd of September. It’ll be in Pier 70 in San Francisco and have more than 50 top speakers from the industry, more than 1000 global participants and 500ish startups and brands represented. If you love this space and want to find your tribe here, head to micromobility.io to find out more details.

In celebration of Earth Day 2021, Oliver interviews Horace about his latest project - looking at the carbon emissions in the transport sector and modelling the pathways for the current options. You can probably imagine where they get to, but they don’t want to spoil the show. This is still a work in progress, and they are putting this out as a primer so that folks may understand the narrative arc, and the background/context of why Horace is looking at this. Specifically they look at: - The math of emissions, and why transport is hard - The lifecycles of vehicles and why the shift to electric cars will take a long time - The ‘gap’ that exists between existing emissions reduction plans and reality - Where micromobility might contribute Also, the next Micromobility America conference is now scheduled for the 23rd of September. It’ll be in Pier 70 in San Francisco and have more than 50 top speakers from the industry, more than 1000 global participants and 500ish startups and brands represented. If you love this space and want to find your tribe here, head to miicromobility.io to find out more details.

In an emergency podcast episode of Ride On!, James Gross and guest Prabin Joel Jones discuss the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Bird, one of the high flying shared micromobility companies over the last 5 years.. They delve into the financial challenges and strategic missteps of Bird and other companies in the shared micromobility space, considering the broader implications for the industry. They then turn their attention to how you could build a shared micromobility company today and the opportunities that are now present as capital and some of the existing industry heads for the exit. 

Between COVID work stoppages, a massive stock surge, a strategic tech acquisition, partnering with legendary automotive engineer Sandy Munro, and the general fits and starts of pre-production, Arcimoto, maker of semi-enclosed electric three-wheelers, has had an eventful year. This week Oliver interviews their CEO, Mark Frohnmayer, to shed light on the company’s manufacturing progress and long-term ambitions—and why he believes heavy micromobility is vital to the future of electric vehicles. This is the audio version of the video from the Micromobility Show on Youtube. Check out the link to the video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTzO9wekyiA). If you like this, you will also likely like the interview we did with Mark back in November 2019 on Episode 46. Specifically, they dig into: - What is Arcimoto and the FUV? - How Mark got into lightweight electric vehicles - The no man’s land between bikes and cars - Arcimoto’s coming "Platform 2" - The regulatory situation for 3-wheeled vehicles - Licensing requirements to drive - Sandy Munro’s influence - Technical debt of Arcimoto - Arcimoto’s mini delivery vehicle, the Deliverator - How Arcimoto sees competition

This week Oliver brings you an exclusive interview with Salvatore Palella, CEO of Helbiz, which is about to list on the NASDAQ as the first shared micromobility player to go public globally. It’s a fascinating conversation about the current state of the market, how valuations are reached in the SPAC space, and what possibilities are enabled for micromobility by the public markets. Specifically, they dig into: - Salvatore’s background, including as one of the youngest professional football club owners in Europe. - The origin story through to the current state of Helbiz, including where they started, how they operate and how many vehicles they have. - They talk through the SPAC fundraising journey, and how Salvatore raised early capital for the company. - They talk through the post-public market plans for the company including thoughts on mergers and acquisitions strategy. - How they have viewed hardware. - A discussion of their early forays into cryptocurrencies, and what Salvatore thinks the future will look like for advertising-driven micromobility. - A discussion about the operational and behavioural differences between US & EU markets

This week, Oliver interviews Jameson Dietweiler, CEO of Fantasmo. Fantasmo has been around since 2014 to build maps for machines, and has been working specifically on micromobility since the earliest days in 2017. With the recent announcement that they’ve partnered with Tier to roll out an innovative phone based parking verification technology Oliver was excited to have a chance to bring them on the show. They use camera based positioning to better locate vehicles like scooters and ebikes in cities where often GPS is an insufficeint technology to provide highly accurate location data. They talk about the pivots that the company has made and why their ultimate goal is to own the basemaps that are used for positioning in cities all over the world, using micrombility as the first step. At Micromobility Industries, we’ve been long excited about companies that are building software layers to the micromobility experience. It also provides a good answer to regulators and city officials who ask how hard it is to enforce parking solutions for shared operators across cities, which as we know was an early issues with shared schemes. It can be a little hard to visual, so we would recommend that you check out the short video here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPsXU0Vbctg]. Specifically, they dig into: - The origin story of Fantasmo and how Jameson came to be working on ‘maps for machines’ - The details of the pivots that they’ve made as a company - on-device to parking on phone via cloud etc. - They talk through the Tier pilot and what they’re seeing in the early data. - How they think about the move of computation into mobility, and where it’ll sit (discussing Horace’s thesis that these vehicles will become computing platforms) - They discuss how defensible the moat for a company like Fantasmo is vs. Google or Apple opening up an API for this based on their mapping tech - How the the funding environment is for a software company in the boom-bust Micromobility industry.

This week, Oliver interview Joseph Brennan, co-founder of Zoba, an analytics company working on optimizing micromobility operations. It’s a pretty nerdy topic, but the topline is that their clients have seen up to 74% more rides per scooter simply from operational tweaks that Joseph and the team have suggested. As micromobility operations get more sophisticated and cities get stricter on operators and rule enforcement, services like what Zoba offers will become even more important. This was originally published as a video on our Youtube channel. Check it out here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ipNkpCEN4. Specifically, they dig into: - The history of Zoba and how Joseph and his team came to found the company. - The variables that they’re working with, and how they engage with customers - A discussion on the benefits of new technologies coming down the pipe, including swappable batteries. - The biggest operational challenges for both operators and governments - How has their business fared in the boom/bust of the wider sharing industry, and what are they seeing now? - The challenges and opportunity for raising money in the software-for-micromobility space and what he’d recommend to other entrepreneurs.

We're excited to bring you this interview with Carson Brown, co-founder of TAUR Scooters who are building one of the best designed and coolest looking scooters we've seen on the market. With their team based in London, it’s an excellent discussion about the role of design in micro, and why these new vehicles reflect the culture and environment that they’re designed in. We really hope that you enjoy it.  This was originally a Youtube video for Micromobility Industries - if you’re keen to check that out, check out the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elwybg1Vmeo Specifically they dig into:  - Carson's background working on electric unicycles - Why they decided to chase after personally owned scooters - The importance of design in owned objects - What does their development process look like, and what were the design decisions they had to weigh up. - How they thought about the TAUR brand from the get go. - How they think about the 'hard' part of being in hardware, and what they're facing as a company when getting into production - How they're thinking about support and maintenance  - The irony of designing one of the most innovative personally owned scooters in a market (the UK) where ownership is banned.  - His long term aspirations for TAUR.

This week, Oliver interviews Horace about the ‘Trillion Dollar Question’. With Arcimoto (who we’ve covered on episode 46) hitting a $1b market cap, and the recent article from RestofWorld covering the rise of low end Chinese micro-EV’s, we wanted to circle back to the question of what will heavy micromobility - those vehicles in the 50-500kg category - look like and why could they be where we find the defining vehicles of our time. Specifically we cover: - A quick summary of Horace’s research into carbon emission modelling for micromobility (more to come on this soon!) - How Horace and Oliver both got into micromobility - The rise of the Chinese low-end and what’s interesting about them - How small cars like the Gordon Murray T25 or the golf cars sit in ‘no-mans-land’ - Why the criteria for disruption in vehicle type might sometimes require getting creative with the rules and being ‘unsafe’ - The rise of Arcimoto and their creative interpretation of the rules - Why these vehicles will answer the ‘trillion dollar question’ when they emerge, and why they’re inevitable.

This week, we release the first of the many incredible sessions from the 2021 Micromobility World conference, wherein Benedict Evans and Horace Dediu discussed the disruptive potential of micromobility. It was an incredible conversation between two people who clearly have a lot of time and are excited by each others ideas. We hope you enjoy it! Specifically they dig into: - Why Benedicts background as a historian makes him a great analyst. - The micromobiltiy disruption thesis - low end, the asymmetric nature of unbundling trips (market for vehicles vs. market for miles), the role of fun/enjoyment, speed of interaction - Why micromobility is more interesting that autonomy - The role of Marchetti’s constant in transport, and why that matters for micrombility’s unique capabilities - What the rise of elevators can teach us about new urban transport technologies - What the platform game will look like in this space. - What the impact of COVID has been on how we think about transport - How micromobility will enable Amazon logistics API to fulfil deliveries - Tackling ‘Should the thing move, or the person move?’, and why that matters to micromobility. - Why the low cost of micromobility platforms will allow real world marketing kickbacks similar to how ‘surfing’ on the internet works now - ’take me somewhere interesting’ - Why the rise of new forms of transport like automobiles enabled new crimes and the rise of Bonnie and Clyde - Why cities will likely eventually move towards dynamic road pricing If you prefer video, check out the video of it on the Micromobility Industries Youtube page here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QAedjTudoQ

On this episode, Horace joins Oliver on the show to talk about what an entry by Apple into the mobility market would look like, and why a car is perhaps the wrong form factor to be looking at. They talk through the growth prospects for micromobility, and why Apple’s entry into the market would be a meaningful contribution to the world of mobility. This is on the back of Horace’s post ‘Apple Computer’ published on the Micromobility Industries blog recently. Check it out here: https://micromobility.io/blog/2021/1/11/apple-computer Specifically they dig into: - The parts of the upcoming Micromobility World conference that Horace is most excited about - The size of the car market vs the micromobility market as it currently stands - Where the margins lie - Why Apple has typically entered into industries that are still ‘embryonic’ - What a meaningful contribution could look like and what technologies would materially affect the user experience - The constraints of infrastructure on useability and the ‘feel’ of a vehicle - How computation becomes more personal over time, and why that will apply to vehicles too - The revisit Microsoft’s decision in the 90’s to get into the lounge, and why that was the wrong question. - Horace coins the term ‘smartphone-y’ Thanks again to the sponsors of this episode, Christensen Group. Christensen Group, a lead player in the micromobility insurance category. As the micromobility space continues to grow around the world with a diverse spectrum of business models, Christensen Group continues to be a leader in the space servicing: e-scooter, moped, motorcycle, e-bike sharing operations along with: subscription & private based programs,  manufacturers, AI technology providers and more. They will have a virtual booth at this year’s Micromobility World event on January 27-29.  They invite you to stop by and have a chat with them about safety, fundraising, regulatory requirements, and trends in the risk and insurance marketplace, or whatever else is on your mind. They’re also going to have folks from Zagster, ZipCar, Ford Mobility, and others dropping by their booth to discuss litigation trends, regulatory missteps, fundraising and start-up strategies, and more.

Fun fact: Seoul, South Korea is the largest market for shared scooters globally, and Beam is one of the largest players there. This week, Oliver interviews Alan Jiang, founder of Beam, the largest shared Micromobility operator in Asia-Pacific. Asia is one of the hotspots for micromobility given its home to the majority of the world’s population experiencing the growth, density and ensuing urban congestion where micromobility really thrives. We’re very excited to cover more of it in 2021. Alan has a great view over the market and it's nuances. Speciflcally they dig into: - Alan’s background at Uber and then Ofo - how he’s seeing the market develop in Asia and Australasia - Seoul - it’s the worlds biggest scooter market, and you're one of the largest players. What are the benefits to scale and what are they seeing? - Beam’s unique commodity hardware strategy - fundraising and what he’s seen change in the conversations over the last 12-24 months - how Alan think of the ridehailing players, and whether Grab/Go-Jek/Didi are going to go hard into micromobility

Today on the show, Oliver interviews Puneeth Meruva, Associate at Trucks VC about their latest report: The Three Axes of Micromobility: Supply Chains, Distribution and Maintenance about the often unseen world of getting Micromobility into the hands of consumers. This is a topic that hasn’t received much coverage to date, so it was a fascinating conversation fully of nitty-gritty and relatively technical details about the opportunities for development and investment in the micromobility ecosystem. Specifically they dig into: - a recap of Trucks VC, their thesis and other portfolio companies in the Micromobility space - Puneeths background and how he got there  - what the research was about, and why Trucks undertook it - key findings in the fields of components, distribution, maintenance etc - Whether timelines for new product development are getting shorter vs longer and why - Who the interesting businesses are in the distribution and maintenance space - future opportunities in design and tech both in vehicles and business models (including a reference to www.nimbus.green - one of the companies Oliver is most excited about at the moment) - A discussion about vehicle platforms, and whether Puneeth agree’s with Horace’s thesis that these vehicles will become computing platforms. The report itself can be found here [https://www.trucks.vc/blog/the-three-axes-of-micromobility-supply-chains-distribution-and-maintenance]

Oliver Bruce is back for this episode!

Upway is an innovative company in the e-bike marketplace, specializing in the refurbishment and resale of electric bikes. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Paris, France, Upway has made significant strides in the e-bike industry. Toussaint Wattinne, the CEO and co-founder of Upway, along with co-founder Stéphane Ficaja, have backgrounds in leading roles at Uber Eats, bringing their expertise in tech-driven business models to the e-bike industry. The company is notable for refurbishing and certifying a vast array of electric bikes, offering customers a wide selection of over 400 brands. As of March 2023, Upway had refurbished and certified more than 20,000 electric bikes, showcasing its commitment to providing quality and sustainable transportation options. The company has successfully expanded its services beyond France, with availability in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. This expansion is a testament to the growing demand for sustainable and affordable mobility solutions. Upway's approach to e-bike sales centers around a seamless ordering and delivery process, ensuring that the bikes and their batteries are of high quality and safe for use. This business model has attracted notable investors like Sequoia Capital, Global Founders Capital, Exor Seeds, and Origins, contributing to Upway's impressive total funding of $60.6 million. Highlights 🚲 Upway, a company specializing in selling refurbished electric bikes, has successfully raised over $30 million in Series B funding. 🌍 Founded in 2021 and based in Paris, Upway has expanded to Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. 🔄 They have refurbished over 20,000 electric bikes from more than 400 brands, offering up to 35% discount compared to new bikes. 🛠️ Upway's business model focuses on rebuilding trust in the used ebike market by refurbishing bikes to a high standard and offering a one-year warranty. 📈 Despite initial skepticism, the market demand for used ebikes has been strong, with Upway receiving high customer satisfaction ratings. 🤝 Upway collaborates with over 1500 retailers and ebike dealers, using trading software for customer trade-ins and managing returns for D2C manufacturers. 📊 The business mix varies by region, with a significant portion of sourcing in Europe coming from dealers, while in the US, direct consumer purchases and manufacturer returns play a larger role.

This week Oliver interviews Chinmay Malaviya and Charlie Depman, cofounders of Ridepanda, about their efforts to build a better customer journey for purchasing owned micromobility. The platform is relatively new, but it hits on a very relevant need. Thanks to Reilly Brennan from Trucks VC for putting us onto them. Specifically we dig into: - Their backgrounds at Bird, Scoot and Lime and how that led them to starting this business. - The core customer needs that they’re trying to solve - The importance of trusted reviews and reliable servicing for customers - What matters to customers, and why brand is far further down the list than expected - What early traction they’re seeing - How COVID 19 has impacted the buyers guide - Their fundraising journey and what they’re seeing for Micromobility related startups in general.

This week, Horace joins Oliver for the podcasts 100th episode, and they run through what’s happened in the last 2 and a half years, and wonder aloud what will happen in the next two. Specifically they dig into: - Horace’s early theses - The emergence of scooters and why they proved to be so challenging to Horace’s ideas about what vehicles would be most popular - The biggest mistake that Horace thinks he made in his early theories - What Oliver considers the biggest barriers, and where he over and underestimated progress over the last 2 years - Where they expect to see development - The pace of adoption, and why patience is needed.

This week Oliver interviews Richard Burger, co-founder of Swapfiets, the largest bike subscription service in Europe. With more than 220,000 subscriptions and growing rapidly, it’s a great discussion on solving the job-to-be-done for biking/micromobility, as well as the challenges and opportunities of operating large service business at scale across 6 (soon to be 7) countries. Specifically, they cover: - The context of the existing bike ownership experience in the Netherlands that gave rise to paying 16 euros a month to rent a bike. - The origins of Swapfiets, and the genius marketing decision to use a blue-front wheel to make the bike’s identifiable - The operational challenges and economics of the subscription business - Who their customers are, and how that’s evolved over time - The launch of their new electric bike, and how that’s performing

This week Oliver interviews Dmitri Pivovarov from Bolt Mobility, which is one of the largest ride hailing players in Europe, and has been quietly building a micromobility business which recently announced it was expanding to challenge Tier as the largest micromobility operator in Europe in 2021. Oliver uses this episode to dig into the interplay between ride hailing and micromobility, how Bolt has built the business, and get an update on the overall shared micrombobility market in Europe. It’s a great interview. Specifically, they dig into: - The history of Bolt Mobility, and it’s origins as Taxify - Clarify that they are indeed, not endorsed by Usain Bolt - Talk about the nature of mobility markets, and servicing this demand with either ride hailing or micromobility - How the Bolt team sought to approach building the micromobility business, and how they’ve built a very cost-effective operations engine for scaling - The unique design points from their new custom hardware - The state of the other players in the European market

Today Oliver interviews Horace for a fun review of the parallels between the smartphone revolution and what we’re seeing play out with the growth of lightweight electric vehicles trips. It’s also a hilarious chance to hear Horace talk about how we think about fostering children as a species and ask why the same thinking isn’t applied to how we run organisations and products. Specifically they dig into: - The history of the smartphone industry, and why business model rather than competence dictated the fall of Nokia. - Discuss the importance of understanding the framing of job-to-be-done and why that matters for micromobility. - Horace points out how the fostering and growth of children is so natural to humans, and asks why it is yet so challenging for companies to foster comparable innovation. - Talk about how incumbent car manufacturers will be treating micromobility internally, and how the immune systems of the organisations will struggle to accept such a wide departure from their standard business model. Micromobility World is our first all-digital event running from Jan 27-29th, 2021. We have some of the biggest names in the worlds of owned and shared micromobility, disruptive innovation, urban design and investing coming together to talk about how to supercharge the Micromobility revolution. Tickets are free, with a VIP tier for curated community participation. Register at Micromobility.io - it’s going to be awesome.

This week Oliver interviews a fellow kiwi, Timothy Allan, CEO of Ubco, about their heavy duty electric motorbikes. While the firm is small - they’ve sold a bit more than a thousand units across NZ, Europe and the US - it ticks a few interesting disruptive innovation boxes, mainly by meeting the customers core needs in very specific ways through improved reliability and then  creating new jobs to be done in the form of silent transport and portable power packs that change the basis of competition against other ICE options.  Specifically, they dig into:  - The history of the Ubco brand/motorbikes in 2014/15 - Why farming environments in New Zealand are the perfect place to test heavy duty micromobility vehicles - The value of getting bikes into the hands of customers for real world feedback - The importance of quality in componentry in a heavy duty setting - The challenges incumbent manufacturers will face transitioning across to electric powertrains - How they think about distribution and servicing, and how that impacts the business - The story of fundraising for an electric motorbike manufacturer down in the middle of nowhere.

This week Oliver interviews Amir Haleem, the CEO of Helium, about Peoples Network, which promises ubiquitous coverage and data costs of $1/year to connect a Micromobility vehicle. Oliver has been incredibly excited about what they’re up to for a while, and so welcomed the opportunity to sit down and unpack what they’re doing and why it’s transformational. Specifically, they dig into: - The history of Helium and the importance of permissionless innovation. - What is LoRaWan and why does it matter? - Why does Helium use blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to make their back end system function, and why is that largely irrelevant for customers? - How big the network now is, and how quickly it’s building out - Why this may well be the new model for how we build out telco networks in the future. - Why this is perfectly suited to Micromobility, and what possibilities it unlocks in terms of diagnostics, tracking and other value add services - How $1/year data costs are transformational, and how the costs for transponder and hotspot is going to rapidly decline. - They review the competition for creating connected Micromobility, comparing data costs, battery performance, coverage and the sort. If you’re interested in the Helium project, go and check out The Hotspot Podcast Full disclosure, Helium were kind enough to sponsor earlier podcasts and Oliver has got a few hotspots to learn more about their tech, but mainly, as you can hopefully hear, we just think they’re on to something and building out the best solution for micromobility connectivity that’s available in this space.

This week Oliver interviews Derek Dorresteyn, COO of Damon Motorcycles. Derek previously worked at Boosted and was the CTO at Alta Motorbikes, one of the first electric motorbike manufacturers globally. They do a whistle stop tour of the electric motorbike space, including why it’s so hard, what we’ve collectively learnt and Dereks predictions on the space. Derek has been around the space for a long time and thinking about the challenges longer than most. Specifically they dig into: ⁃ Derek’s history in motorbike racing and eventually setting up a machine shop business. ⁃ His early forays into electric motorbike after reading the Tesla blog ⁃ The story of Alta Motors, including their raises, development, partnership with Harley Davidson and eventual closure ⁃ His work with Boosted on the products that would come after the Rev ⁃ His reflections on capital raising in the micromobility hardware space from 2010 onwards, and why now it’s easier than ever to raise ⁃ His work now at Damon Motorcycles, and the potential of electric in the hyperbike category ⁃ The possibilities for safety created through electric powertrains and ADAS systems. ⁃ The growth of SPAC’s and the impact that that is having on the space.

Horace rejoins Oliver on the podcast to revisit the original reasons that Horace started looking at micromobility, and identified it as a disruptive innovation. It covers the context of the research that he was doing at the time, and why it meets the theoretical and anecdotal indicators that it’s going to change the way that we think about transport. Specifically we dig into: ⁃ Horace’s research into the auto market, and why he didn’t think that the shared, electric autonomy that was all hype in 2014-16 was going to deliver on it’s disruptive potential. ⁃ Why only when asking questions that no-one was asking about cars did he start to see the potential for micromobility ⁃ Why a lack of datasets is confirmatory that he was on to something, and why that’s been problematic ⁃ What he think he got right in the original thesis back in 2018, and what he thinks has changed since then ⁃ Horace reviews his own predictions, what he got wrong and what he didn’t see back then. This is another classic Horace episode.

This week Oliver is joined by Horace for an update and discussion on heavy micromobility, including a recent video interview of Sandy Munro, the automotive engineering guru, and Mark Frohnmayer, CEO of Arcimoto talking about their three wheeled electric auto-cycle [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC2Y6aA67Rk]. Mark has been a guest on the podcast in the past in episode 46 and Micromobility Industries are big fans of what they’re doing. Finally, they circle back on the age old question of whether Tesla is conforming to disruptive innovation theory. Specifically, they dig into: - How Arcimoto is conforming to the theory of disruptive innovation with the way that it’s approaching the market - underserving, lower end, modularised production, solving for the job to be done - and why it’s the first stock recommendation (other than Apple) that Oliver has ever heard Horace make. - The history of overserving the customers in the car market, and why there’s a space under them in the market for heavy micromobility - The speed of technological and business model development, and how that ties to the size and speed of the vehicle - The recent Battery Day announcements and manufacturing process upgrades from Elon Musk, and whether they’ve changed Horace’s mind that Tesla is a disruptive (rather than sustaining) innovation.

Melvin Lian is the Founder and CEO of @VoroMotors . He discusses his company's journey, from its beginnings in Singapore to its current base in Los Angeles. Melvin detailed the challenges he faced in Singapore, including strict regulations that culminated in an overnight ban on scooters. Melvin also talks about the company's innovations in seated scooters, its distribution of Kaboo and Dualtron scooters, as well as its own EMOVE line of vehicles. Highlights - 🛴 Melvin Lim, founder and CEO of Voro Motors, explained how the firm began in Singapore due to the city's need for convenient and portable e-scooters. - ⚖️ He explained the various laws in Singapore that gradually constrained scooter usage, leading to an unexpected overnight ban on scooters in 2019. - 🖊️ Following this, Melvin made the decision to move operations to Los Angeles where he believed the desire for e-scooter use was increasing. - 🚀 In L.A. they primarily sold their own models, the Emove Cruiser and the Emove Touring, however consumer demand led to them also distributing dula motor scooters by other brands like Kaboo and Dualtron. - 🌍 Despite the challenges from strict regulations and sudden changes in operating environments, Voro Motors has successfully adapted and grown, serving different customer bases with varied products.

Today Oliver interviews Paul Steely White, head of Policy at Link by Superpedestrian. We had Assaf Bidermaan, the CEO of Superpedestrian on last year to talk about their new scooter, but that was before they launched Link and recently won one of the Seattle scooter permits. The second mover advantage in this space continues to become clearer and it was great to dig into this. Paul has been around the micromobility/bike advocacy traps a long time first at Transportation Alternatives, then Bird and now Link, and like many others we’ve had on, is a bit of an OG of the space. We hope you enjoyed this as much as we did. * His background at Transportation Alternatives, Bird and now Superpedestrian * How and why Superpedestrian decided to start LINK, and the importance of the feedback cycle in product development * What LINK does differently in it’s vehicle including the importance of being able to do granular onboard vehicle maps and how their vehicle intelligence and operations allow them to be profitable with only one ride per day. * What he thinks Bird and Lime did wrong. * The New York City RFP for scooters and what they’re seeing in the space * What he is seeing with LINK and cities now in terms of what they want for their operators * The question of infrastructure, and his experience working with Transportation Alternatives and experts like Donald Shoup to change street space allocation. * How it helps to be a second mover in the space * The emergence of debt in new rounds of scooter funding and how the question of insurance is changing as the industry matures

In one of his favourite interviews to date, Oliver interviews Cedrick Tandong, CEO of ThreeWheelsUnited, a electric rickshaw or tuktuk financing and operations company based in Bangalore, India. With over 3000 tuktuks on the road, partnerships with the largest local manufacturers, Uber partnership and more, Cedrick and the team have found the sweet spot for Micromobility in what is a fascinating local niche. Specifically they dig into: * What is ThreeWheelsUnited and the multiple sides of the business - vehicle supply, financing, tech platform for payments and operations. * Cedricks background and how he ended up going from Cameroon to France to India. * How the unit economics are playing out with new electric tuktuks vs. existing models. * How to build out a low-cost recharging infrastructure for these vehicles. * The challenges and joys of working in India as a foreigner * The story of fundraising for a vehicle financing and tech startup - how that's gone, what they’re looking for and how they managed to get Techstars and Asian Development Bank money. * The climate impact that they’re having.

Micromobility data standards are the rails new micromobility juggernauts will be built on. In this episode, Oliver interviews Sam Herr, Executive Director of North American Bikeshare Association (NABSA), and Heidi Gennin, Shared Mobility Product Manager at Mobility Data, about the Generalized Bikeshare Feed Specification (GBFS) data format. Admittedly, it sounds dry, and yet, it’s a fascinating episode, with Heidi and Sam doing a great job explaining both what it is and why something as simple as a data format can supercharge the development of non-car transportation in our cities. Specifically they dig into: - What is a Data format and why does it matter? - What is the GBFS and how does it connect to NABSA, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the GTFS. - How does the GBFS relate to the Mobility Data Specification? - Which countries around the world use the data standards for their bike shares, and why this is a rapidly growing space - What challenges they face in developing a global data standard - How they’re thinking about future open vehicle protocols, including ride hailing and car share. In the meantime, be sure to check out Horace’s upcoming keynote “Micromobility’s Moment” on the 10th of September at 12-1pm EST. It’s going to be amazing - an instant classic, with thundering narrative arcs backed up with detailed data about the State of the Micromobility World not just both before and after COVID, but in the wider context of our transport systems and a better world. Tickets are $20, and you can register here - https://vi.to/hubs/micromobility.