Why this is interesting: Micromobility, as a conference and as an emerging industry, presents a compelling counterpoint to pretty much everything that feels wrong with the automotive sector these days.
Last week, I went to Micromobility Europe, a conference dedicated to sub-500 Kg mobility products and services, held in my home town of Amsterdam.
Given that two and a half years have passed since I attended the first Micromobiltiy Europe in Berlin, it’s been interesting to note how the conference has evolved.
These notes have been compiled from my Twitter thread, which you can find here.
In short, the industry on show in 2022 was:
More diverse
There were far more women at this event! This was a big improvement over Berlin which, if I’m honest, felt like youthful version of pale, male, and stale cohort that plagues the traditional motor shows.
But it wasn’t just women in the audience: women were also representing on stage, as moderators, as panelists, as keynote speakers, and as company founders.
It was a delight to see Whee!, a female-founded start-up, win a pitch competition; they offer the eBike equivalent of SUVs-as-a-service to Norwegian mums. Another winner, Ampersand, presented a compelling case for how their battery-swappable motorbikes are improving mobility equity and business opportunities for small businesses in East Africa.
More mature
In contrast to the hype-driven blitz-scaling of years past, which saw shared scooters and bikes dumped on city streets as start-ups used the public realm as their Petri dish, the leaders of micromobility companies, and their backers, were far more humble in their pronouncements of what it takes to succeed in the sector.
No doubt, the cautionary tale told by the stumbles of the likes of Lime, Bird, and Helbiz, and the shakeout in tech investing generally, are leading folk to be more conservative.
Most importantly, in contrast to the trend within the automotive sector to present “technology” as the silver bullet solution for all that ails it, micromobility providers demonstrated an understanding that it’s just an enabler of change, one which can be deployed for good or bad depending on intent and context.
It was refreshing to hear both founders and backers talk of the need to deeply understand not just the geography, but the mindsets and behaviours of the cities and citizens they want to serve. With this insight, they can much more effectively find the product/service-market fit that’s beneficial for everyone, not just their business.
More collaborative
A big part of this emerging maturity is the recognition that successful micromobility operations depend on deep collaboration with cities and their citizens.
From partnering on tenders to proactively managing and moderating user behaviour, successful micromobility companies are now listening intently to the needs of cities.
In response, they’re better able to proactively propose solutions to transportation challenges, and help educate city authorities about the potential for micromobility to support their quality-of-life and environmental ambitions.
More optimistic
From an investment perspective, the 5-10 year horizon still looks positive, despite the headwinds the industry currently faces.
The electrification of cars alone will not make a sufficient dent in transport-derived emissions, and for cities looking to meet their climate goals, increasing active mobility and micromobility is a cost-effective way forward.
As leaders like Paris and Amsterdam continue to demonstrate the huge quality-of-life gains that come from the shift to micromobility, other cities will come on board.
I was recently in Sydney, a car-addicted city if ever there was, and the state government announced funding for an additional 250 Km of cycle paths.
At the conference, Michael Roth, from Auckland Council in New Zealand, talked through how changes in planning laws will benefit the uptake of micromobility in that city. Both examples show that change is possible, even in places where breaking the addiction to the car has seemed hitherto unimaginable.
More fun
Horace Dediu, tech industry analyst and inventor of the term Micromobility, exhorts industry players to measure their success in smiles per mile.
I imagine the logic runs as follows: if you can get people smiling with a sense of freedom and joy while using these products and services, then adoption will drive the development of sustainable business models.
Judging by the amount of fun attendees were having in the product demo space, hooning around on twin-motor electric bikes, pedal-powered delivery vans, and in shape-shifting pods, it’s hard to deny that Horace is on to something.