E-scooters or app scooters have gained in popularity over the last few years, something that wasn’t thought of as probable in the United States, even just five years ago. So, which of the e-scooter companies are changing the commuting scene in America? Let’s find out as we take a look through the most popular ones.
Bird
Bird was the first dockless electric scooter sharing service in the US back when it was launched in 2017. Originally operating out of Santa Monica, California, today Bird has a significant presence across 100 cities from all over the world.
The company was deemed to be a genius start-up by Time in 2018, which was also the year when Bird launched its own range of rugged e-scooters called Bird One. Last year, it was estimated that Bird had already reached a value of $1 billion within its first year of establishment, and all records point towards further growth in 2020 as well.
LimeBike
Lime offers a more varied service to its customers, as they also have electric bikes and cars to rent out, in addition to the electric scooters. The idea behind LimeBike is actually quite inspiring and part of the reason why they became so popular initially.
The company was founded on the principle that every community should be able to use rented vehicles, without having to break their budget. They are among the cheapest electronic automobile rental services in the United States, but user reviews do not favor the company as much as they had probably hoped.
Spin
Just like Bird, Spin too was founded in the year 2017, but Spin currently limits its services to only 19 cities within the US, although they have a much better user review record than LimeBike.
Founded by Euwyn Poon, Derrick Ko and Zaizhuang Cheng, Spin has a predominant presence in Seattle, but it’s growing at a sustainable rate throughout the States.
Are E-Scooters a Trend that’s Going to Pass?
It was published by the National Association of City Transportation Officials that about 38.5 million e-scooters were rented out for trips in the US in 2018 alone. So, it would be safe to state that it’s not a fad, at least for the foreseeable future. However, a cause for concern may become more evident on taking a look at rising scooter injuries. Between the years 2017 and 2019, roughly 1500 people were injured and 8 people have died in e-scooter accidents, within the aforementioned timeframe. The government and independent organizations are now working together to devise strategies which can help them lower those numbers significantly, and make the roads a safer place for everyone.
Although there will always be an element of risk with two-wheelers and scooters, there is little doubt about the fact that electronic app scooters will continue to be a profitable market.It has a lot to do with their cheap rent rates, the ease of riding,and their ability to navigate through traffic-congested roads.