Micromobility
There’s nothing I love more than rolling up to an automotive event on a bike. This red carpet event was the 2019 California Mille car show and kickoff party atop the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.
MICROMOBILITY EXPERIENCE
I’m fairly new to cycling - someone who only biked on vacations after about age 13. Fast forward to Spring, 2014 and I decided to take the plunge. I purchased a Public Bike and it’s still the only bike that I own. It’s cute, but super heavy and only a 7-speed. I first experienced shared bikes in the summer of 2016 when I joined Social Bicycle in Santa Monica so I had access to a bike when I visited my friend there. I loved it!
Everywhere I travel, I make a point to try the available bikes & scooters. I believe in shared because you shouldn’t have to own a bike to ride a bike. Plus you don’t have to worry about the storage, security, and maintenance of shared bikes. And now that many bikes are ebikes, it means your trips just got a whole lot faster. My hilly hometown of San Francisco has essentially been flattened ever since JUMP ebikeshare came to town in early 2018. The combination of their dockless system and World’s Best EBikeshare Hardware makes them my absolute favorite. The only thing missing is a membership plan and wider distribution throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
My first and only bike as an adult.
My first ride on a JUMP ebikeshare
Here are the markets where I have ridden a shared bike or scooter since the summer of 2016 - grouped by operator:
In late 2018 as shared systems became commonplace, I aggressively sought out opportunities to try shared bikes and scooters. San Francisco’s SFMTA had banned scooters from our streets right as they were taking off. So I made a detour through Santa Monica so that I could try them. I was able to ride everything we were missing in San Francisco. I haven’t stopped since then. The map above has the systems grouped roughly by operator. Here is a chronological list:
2016
Santa Monica - Social Bicycles
2017
Indianapolis - Pacers BCycle
Savannah - CAT BCycle
Charleston - Social Bicycles
Santa Monica - Le Meridian Bikes
Austin - BCycle
New York - citibike (Motivate)
2018
Mountain View - Lime Bike
San Francisco - Bird Scooters, Lime Scooters, JUMP Bikes, FordGoBikes
San Jose - FordGoBikes (dockless), Lime Scooter, Bird Scooter
Santa Monica - JUMP Bike, JUMP Scooter, Lyft Scooter, Lime Scooter, Bird Scooter
Ann Arbor - Bird Scooter
San Francisco - Skip Scooters, Scoot Scooters
Los Angeles - LA Bike Metro
Venice Beach - Lime Scooter, JUMP Bike
2019
Portland - Biketown
Los Angeles - JUMP Bikes, Lyft Scooter
Rome - Bici - traditional Bike Rental
Paris - Velib (Smoove), JUMP Bikes, Lime Scooter
Barcelona - Scoot Ebike, **Bicing Bikeshare (PBSC) 😢
State College - Zagster
Pittsburgh - Hotel District Bikes, HealthyRide - nextbike
Detroit - MoGo bike (PBSC), Spin Scooters
Toronto - Bike Share Toronto (PBSC)
Albany - CDHP Social Bicycles
Boston - Blue Bikes (PBSC)
New York - citibike (Lyft, PBSC)
Chicago - Divvy (Lyft, PBSC)
Milwaukee - Lime Scooters **Bublr Bikeshare (BCycle) 😢
Denver - Denver BCycle, JUMP
Berkeley - FordGoBike
Honolulu - Biki Bikes (PBSC)
San Francisco - Baywheels / Lyft, Spin Scooter
Lima - CityBikeLima (Smoove)
2020
San Diego - Bird, Lyft Scooter
Sacramento - JUMP bikes
New Orleans - Louisiana Blue Bikes + JUMP
San Antonio - Razor Scooter **SA Bikeshare BCycle 😢
Tucson - Razor Scooter **tugo Bikeshare (PBSC) , Bird 😢
— COVID19 = the end of traveling for awhile —
Durham - SPIN Scooter, Gotcha Scooter
Alexandria - Capital Bikeshare
2021
Seattle - Lime/JUMP bike
Washington, D.C. - Lime/JUMP bike
Chicago - Divvy bike
New York, Brooklyn, Hoboken, Jersey City - Citibike
😢 = tried to ride, but prevented by membership or technical difficulties