eResearch | The pandemic significantly impacted transportation services in both the public and private sectors as consumers’ limited movement to contain COVID-19, however, the micro-mobility market experienced a spike in demand as consumers seek safer ways to travel.
Companies such as Last Mile Holdings Ltd. (TSX: MILE) is taking advantage of the changing environments, while others such as Lime Technologies (STO: LIME), are slowing down operations in multiple areas.
Gotcha Experiences Increase in Demand
While some micro-mobility companies reduced operations, Gotcha Mobility experienced a significant increase in demand due to the pandemic, leading consumers away from congested transit services and towards bikes and scooters.
Gotcha Mobility is a subsidiary of Last Mile Holdings and operates e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-trikes sharing solutions in cities and universities across the U.S.
In February, Gotcha Mobility experienced a 258% increase in revenue per day, a 185% increase in trips per day, a 97% increase in minutes per trip, a 196% increase in weekly active riders, and a 211% increase in trips per device per day.
Below are metrics on specific geographies:
- Between February 1 and May 5, in Baton Rouge, Gotcha Mobility had a 3,767% increase in revenue per day, 1,051% increase in trips per day, a 117% increase in minutes per trip, a 1,314% increase in weekly active riders, and a 694% increase in trips per device per day.
- Between February 1 and May 5, in Charleston, Gotcha Mobility had a 784% increase in revenue per day, a 216% increase in trips per day, and a 216% increase in trips per device per day.
Gotcha TO GO Offers an Alternative in Food Delivery
In April, Gotcha Mobility announced the launch of Gotcha TO GO, a $15/day scooter rental service and mobile app, offered to businesses for food delivery.
Gotcha TO GO disrupts the food delivery industry as most businesses such as Uber charge anywhere between 20-30% on top line revenues from restaurants, which is unsustainable for those with reduced demand due to the pandemic.
The delivery service includes:
- $15/day per vehicle, with discounts for fleets above five.
- Zero third-party delivery fees or revenue charges.
- Cargo basket attached to each scooter.
- 24/7 access to vehicles.
The Gotcha TO GO service aligns with Gotcha’s mission to reduce trips by single occupancy vehicles.
In March, OjO Electric Corp. announced the completed acquisition of Gotcha Mobility and the renaming of OjO Electric to Last Mile Holdings Ltd. Further details on the merger can be read in the article we posted called “Largest Public Micro-Mobility Company Created After Acquisition of Gotcha Mobility”.
Lime Lays Off Most Canadian Employees
Lime, the first e-scooter company in the Canadian market, was expanding across Canada in areas such as Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, however, the pandemic drastically reduced operations to just Calgary.
In April, due to the pandemic, Lime announced the furloughing of 13% of its employees, which resulted in the Canadian division being reduced to just two full-time employees.
The layoffs came one week after Lime announced a US$170 million investment led by Uber, which valued Lime at US$510 million – 79% lower than its valuation last year. As part of the deal, Lime acquired Jump, Uber’s bike and scooter subsidiary.
As Lime’s operations go silent across Canada, its main competitor, Bird, is planning to take the market share as it continues to trudge along with more consumers expected to start using micro-mobility options.
Uber Sells Bike and Scooter Business to Lime
Last month, Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) reported Q1/2020 earnings, with a Net Loss of US$2.9 billion due to a significant decline in overseas investments. To offload an underperforming asset, Uber announced shortly afterwards, the sale of Jump, its bike and scooter subsidiary, to Lime. Jump had quarterly losses of US$60 million.
As the pandemic significantly reduced ridership demand, Uber cut 14% of its workforce, laying off 3,700 employees, while its main competitor, Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT), followed suit and cut 17% of its workforce, laying off 982 employees.
Though Uber’s gross bookings fell 5% year-over-year, in Q1/2020, revenues grew to US$3.5 billion, a 14% increase year-over-year. The significant sales growth was due to its Uber Eats food delivery business which reached revenues of US$819 million, a 53% increase year-over-year.
Micro-Mobility Industry
According to Goldman Sachs, the broader ride-sharing market is estimated to grow between US$177 billion to US$492 billion by 2030. Grandview Research did a study on the e-scooter market and valued it at US$17.4 billion in 2018, forecasted to grow to US$41.9 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 8.5%. A recent study by Research and Markets estimates the scooter sharing fleet, consisting of both sit-down & stand-up electric scooters, will grow to 4.6 million vehicles by 2024 with a 5-year CAGR of 43%.
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