Scooter-sharing and bike-sharing can coexist with personal ownership, said Sam Sadle, senior director of government relations for North America at shared-mobility provider Lime.
“There was a worry initially that when you launch bike-share, it would take away from bike sales,” Sadle said. “But what it’s actually done is gotten more people into riding bikes to get around. Same thing with this. Launching scooter-share has actually brought more people to use scooters as a method of getting around, which has gotten more people comfortable with the method, which means they’re willing to use more scooters.
“They are often used for different purposes, but the purposes are overlapping.”
Scooter-share company Bird has dipped its toe in both waters lately and now rents and sells its scooters.
Bird began sales of the $599 Bird Air scooter in September. The company declined to provide sales data to Automotive News but said in a statement that “retail plays an important role in the future of micromobility.”
Lime’s Sadle said the company is focused on its current strategy and is not pursuing sales of its devices as a revenue stream.
“We’re really focused on being the shared mobility platform for rides under 5 miles,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Lyft, which offers both bike- and scooter-share, said in a statement to Automotive News that “shared bikes and scooters can provide an alternative form of transportation for folks who don’t own a car or bike.”
