eResearch | The need for a sustainable and efficient mode of transportation in urban hubs led to the creation of many electric scooter companies, but as this niche industry grows, each jurisdiction is regulating e-scooters independently.
According to P&S Intelligence, the global electric scooter sharing market was valued at US$99.8 million in 2018, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.4% between 2019 and 2025 to US$553 million.
Ontario – 5 Year e-Scooter Pilot Project
The Ontario government in Canada just launched its 5-year pilot project to allow electric scooters on roads, which came after its initial announcement in November. The plan initially had negative feedback from the disability community, but the benefits of improving local transportation while limiting environmental impacts had more sway for following through with the pilot project.
Ontario has set out guidelines for e-scooters such as age restrictions and safety rules, but it is each municipalities’ responsibility to structure appropriate by-laws for e-scooter use in each respective jurisdiction.
Below are some of the key guidelines Ontario has set out, which can be found here.
- Maximum speed 24 km/h
- Maximum weight 45kg
- Maximum power output 500W
- Minimum operating age 16
- No cargo
Calgary – Reviewing Complete e-Scooter Pilot Project
The City of Calgary in Canada ran a successful pilot project for e-scooters and e-bikes from July 2019 to October 2019, which reported 750,000 recorded e-scooter trips, of which a third of the trips replaced a car trip. Drawbacks from the pilot included 33 serious e-scooter injury incidents that required an ambulance.
Since the pilot, important feedback was collected from the public, which was used to alter rules such as a top speed of 15-20 km/h, and the City of Calgary expects to officially reintroduce e-scooters in the spring of 2020.
New York – Stops Plans for e-Scooters
At the end of December, Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill, which needed to be passed to legalize e-scooter and e-bikes in New York, due to the lack of enough safety precautions.
Several North American e-scooter market leaders such as Lime (private; www.li.me) and Bird Rides, Inc. (private; www.bird.co) have been actively lobbying in Albany and Manhattan to push the bill forward.
OJO Electric Corp. – Increases Pipeline to 80 Locations Through Gotcha Acquisition
In November, OJO Electric Corp. (TSXV: OJO; OTC: AZNVF),, a leading e-scooter company, announced the acquisition of Gotcha Mobility for US$5 million in cash and US$7 million in shares, which is expected to close soon this month.
The merger will support OJO’s plan to scale its pipeline to 80 locations and an operating base of 25,000 mobility units by 2020, which would make it the third largest micro-mobility footprint in North America after Lime (private; www.li.me) and Bird Rides, Inc. (private; www.bird.co).
As the competition starts to build amongst e-scooter companies as cities and provinces across North America legalize and regulate the industry, it will be interesting to see which company creates the gold standard for e-scooters in urban society.
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Bird Rides, Inc. (private company)
- www.bird.co
- Headquartered in California, U.S., Bird is a private electric vehicle sharing company focused on providing e-scooters through its smartphone app.
- Bird was founded in 2017 and in Jun 2018 raised US$300 million at a post-money valuation of US$2 billion, with investors including Accel, Charles River Ventures and Sequoia Capital.
Neutron Holdings, Inc. (private company)
- li.me
- Headquartered in California, U.S., Neutron is a private transportation company that operates in the e-scooter sharing business through its brand name Lime, formally known as LimeBike, which offers dock-free bikes and e-scooters through its smartphone app.
- Neutron was founded in 2017 and in Feb 2019 raised US$310 million at a post-money valuation of US$2.4 billion, with investors including Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG), Andreessen Horowitz LLC, and Bain Capital Ventures.
OjO Electric Corp. (TSXV:OJO)
- www.ojoelectric.com
- Headquartered in Oxnard, United States, OjO Electric Corp. engages in the ride sharing business with a focus on two-wheeled electric scooters.
- It offers e-scooters with various functions including e-scooters that can drive in sitting and standing positions, as well as e-scooters with accessories such as battery chargers and baskets.
- In November 2019, OjO announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Gotcha Mobility (private; www.ridegotcha.com) for US$12 million.
- Currently OjO is suspended from trading until the acquisition is completed. The stock last traded at $0.50 with a market cap of $17.5 million.
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