Uber announced its fourth quarter earnings yesterday, with the results showing its market dominance in the cab-hailing segment and its extensive investment across different niche verticals it has expanded into recently.
Off late, electric scooter company Lime has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Batteries burning up, bike vandalism, fragile bikes breaking down, and the latest – abrupt braking issues.
Investors are pumping millions into on-demand transit startups working in taxi-hailing and e-scooter sharing, but questions still remain if they can turn in positive bottom lines in the years to come.
Since the launch of Ford Smart Mobility, Ford has been intent on gaining ground in alternate mobility with e-biking being an important segment. Apart from acquiring Spin, the company has also bought GoBike and has launched an e-bike service ‘Jelly’, across the Purdue University campus.
As e-bike sharing startups flush cities with bikes for rent at dirt cheap prices, city administrations need to take a look in and understand the impact an unregulated e-biking scene could have on its roads.
China has toyed with the concept of bike-sharing but met with disastrous results due to an unsustainable business model and excessive dumping of bikes on the streets. The U.S. bike-sharing startups could take a leaf out of their book and improvise accordingly.
