Sure, we’re used to hailing a cab via an app or booking a bicycle ride but the next hot thing in transport is on-demand electric scooters.
You read that right.
Already, in the US, two start-ups, Bird and Lime, have been valued at over $1 billion each, putting them firmly into the unicorn category. And whilst their electric scooters can be found in places like Washington D.C, San Francisco, and on the streets of Europe, including a chic appearance at Paris Fashion Week, they are still missing from the UK.
Earlier this year, Lime introduced its brightly coloured electric bikes to London and Milton Keynes but its scooters are still nowhere to be seen.
Why?
The Department for Transport has yet to determine whether electric scooters are suitable for road use and whether they meet the Construction and Use Regulations.
According to Forbes, both Bird and Lime are lobbying hard to get the law changed in the UK which would pave the way for new regulations to allow you to scoot around.
Until then, here's what you need to know about the growing scooter start-ups.
Lime
Lime is one of the biggest start-ups in the space. Founded in 2017, it was recently valued at around $2.4 billion thanks to investment from Google’s venture capital arm and Andreessen Horowitz.
The start-up struck a new partnership with Uber last year that means if you're in one of the 100+ cities in the US and Europe where Lime scooters reside, you can use the Uber app to find and discover nearby rides, as well as make payments.
Lime scooters are a big hitter with the fashion crowd too. After launching in Paris ahead of fashion week last year, journalists and influencers were spotted zipping around the city on the scooters and Stella McCartney regularly collaborates with the start-up for its fashion-focused vehicles.
At this year’s PFW, Lime has partnered with sustainable design start-up Closca on an exclusive range of foldable and environmentally-friendly helmets.
The helmets, which combine safety, urban design and fashion, will be on sale for 24 hours only at Closca.com, so you can zoom around on a Lime scooter safely and stylishly.
Bird
Bird is Lime’s major competitor. You can find Bird scooters across the US and in cities such as Paris, Vienna, Tel Aviv and Brussels in Europe.
In London, you can find Bird scooters in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This is private land so it means Bird can get around the restrictions currently imposed on electric scooters.
The company has seen such a rise in demand that it is looking into trialling a new concierge service where it would deliver an electric scooter to someone’s house or office by 8am, so they are ready to ride for the day. Instead of calling an Uber to take you to work, you could be calling a Bird scooter instead.
Voi Technology
One of the few European players, Voi has recently raised a new $30 million funding round to power its expansion throughout Europe. The start-up now has scooters in 14 different cities, including Stockholm, Paris, Lisbon and Oslo from today.
Since it launched last August, over 400,000 users have taken over 750,000 rides across Europe.
Unlike some of the other companies, which have been criticised for their scooters littering the roads, Voi has created a code of conduct in Stockholm so that it works with authorities in new cities to ensure its vehicles are used effectively.
Speaking about its expansion plans, Voi’s CEO, Fedrik Hjelm, said: “This distinctively Scandinavian approach to growth - based on dialogue, transparency, and sustainability - ensures we only enter markets where we’re actively wanted and have a genuine role to play, while always putting citizens at the heart of everything we do.”
Skip
Despite the huge sums of money being poured into scooter start-ups, the likes of Bird and Lime have run into problems with city officials after not applying for permits for their vehicles.
This is how Skip plans to set itself apart from its competitors. The company’s scooters are only available in Washington D.C and San Francisco because it has been working with the cities to ensure it has the right permits to allow Skip to operate properly.
Skip’s CEO, Sanjay Dastoor, told Business Insider: "We've resisted any temptation to launch before we work with cities, we think this is the right way to do it."
So far, the start-up has raised $6 million in seed funding, including from Serena Williams’s husband Alexis Ohanian. It’s unlikely Skip will be coming to the UK anytime soon due to its measured approach to expansion but it’s definitely one to watch.
Spin
Previously a dockless bike-sharing start-up, Spin made a pivot earlier this year to solely focus on scooters.
The team behind Spin is made up of ex-Uber and Lyft employees and has raised $8 million so far in seed funding to bring its vehicles to cities such as Washington D.C, Austin and Denver. You can also find Spin scooters on six US campuses, showing that the start-up is trying to expand out from just the cities model.
There’s a big focus on safety at Spin, as the start-up promises to give free helmets to anyone who requests them. It is also working on creating parking and riding rules, and has a parking rating feature to reward people who take the time to park their scooters properly so as not to litter the roads.
