Once a darling of investors and urbanists alike, pedal-driven dockless bikeshare is getting eclipsed by e-scooters and e-bikes.
"It wasn't much more than a year ago," Angie Schmitt writes, "that dockless bikes — the kind you rent for a half-hour or so to pedal to your destination — were the new tech innovation that were going to transform urban mobility and make millions for their venture capital investors. But cities around the country have already started switching from the heavy bikes to the Next Big Thing: pedal-assist e-bikes and e-scooters."
Micro-mobility firms claim that scooters and their like are simply more popular than traditional bikes. Schmitt lists off a number of cities where dockless pedal bikeshare has all but disappeared lately, or is on the process of doing so.
Some companies cite regulatory pressures as their rationale behind favoring scooters and similar modes. "Many cities put caps on the number of total vehicles a company can provide. And companies are responding by shifting to the more-popular modes."
It should be noted that this apparent die-off only applies to dockless bike share. Its docked cousin is still showing strong annual growth.
FULL STORY: Is Pedal Dockless Bike Share Going Extinct?
Lyft Pulls Micromobility From Los Angeles Area
The company will no longer provide shared bikes and scooters in the L.A. region, citing a ‘lack of longterm commitment’ from cities.
Scooter Companies Convene Advisory Groups to Promote Safety
Both Bird and Lime have organized boards of experts to conduct research and advise the companies as their micromobility ventures grow.
Smaller Cities Rejecting Dockless Bike Share
Two cities, of similar size (about 90,000 residents), and located in different corners of the country, unceremoniously dispatched dockless bikeshare pilots in recent weeks.
The Right to Mobility
As we consider how to decarbonize transportation, preserving mobility, especially for lower- and middle-income people, must be a priority.
Early Sharrow Booster: ‘I Was Wrong’
The lane marking was meant to raise awareness and instill shared respect among drivers and cyclists. But their inefficiency has led supporters to denounce sharrows, pushing instead for more robust bike infrastructure that truly protects riders.
Push and Pull: The Link Between Walkability and Affordability
The increased demand for walkable urban spaces could make them more and more exclusionary if cities don’t pursue policies to limit displacement and boost affordability.
U.S. Transit Agencies Face a Financial Crisis
Transit providers around the country are scrambling to find new sources of revenue to replace lagging ridership and reorienting their systems to a future less dependent on daily commuters.
California Rejects Six-State Colorado River Plan, Proposes Its Own
State officials claim a proposal agreed upon by the other six states using Colorado River water disproportionately impacts California farmers.
Washington Focuses Road Safety Efforts on Individuals, Neglecting Design
Legislative efforts to reduce traffic deaths could move the needle toward Vision Zero, but state leaders failed to commit infrastructure funds to making structural improvements.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
York County Government
York County, Human Resources
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Culver City
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
City of Piedmont, CA
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
