Alchemist City

Surging Popularity of Rideshare E-Bikes and E-Scooters Increases Costs

Mike Colagrossi

The surge in e-bike and e-scooter usage is making shared micro mobility programs increasingly costly across many cities.
Step outside in any major city, and you’ll spot brightly colored bikes, scooters and other electrified wheels at every turn. Bikeshare programs have never been more popular, as highlighted in a recent report.

Transportation Trends: According to a report from the National Association of City Transportation Officials, riders in the U.S. and Canada took 157 million trips on shared bikes and e-scooters in 2023.

  • Between bikes, scooters and ebikes, average costs add up to $14 per day for commuting.
  • Price Increases: Lyft’s fare hikes pushes New York e-bike rides to $15.59, 15-minute e-scooter trips now equal three or four transit fares in some cities
  • Chicago shared memberships are up 45% in the past five years.

These costs stem from several factors. Unlike public transit, which gets government subsidies, most shared micromobility systems are privately operated or depend on private funds.

”They set the prices based on how much it costs to run the program,” said Camille Boggan, lead contributor to the NACTO report.

State of the Industry: Micromobility

The main staples of rideshare companies usually consist of your standard bicycles, electrified scooters, and more recently electric bike variations. Some are based at stations or others are dockless.

  • Ridership growth on station-based systems jumped to 81 million trips in 2023 from 67 million trips in 2022.
  • After a drop in trips in 2022, dockless scooters started to bounce back in 2023 with a 15% increase in trips in the U.S. and Canada: 69 million in 2023 compared to 58.5 million in 2022.
  • Despite being the smallest group, dockless e-bike use has surged. In Canada, trips jumped from under 100,000 in 2022 to 300,000 in 2023. In the U.S., trips increased from 4.5 million to 6.7 million.
An increased investment and shift into electric scooters and bikes comes with its own set of challenges. For a lot of rideshare companies, recharging batteries is a big expense. Dockless vehicles need to be picked up and charged, while many docking stations can’t charge resting bikes.
Theft on the other hand is a major issue as well. San Diego, previously a leader with 3 million annual trips in 2022, saw a dramatic decline as theft and vandalism led to over 15% of fleets being stolen monthly. By late 2023, all four e-scooter providers had exited the city, causing an 88% drop in trips.

While there are still many obstacles for the industry, micro mobility is still the future for transportation. Cities need to evaluate their options, including potentially investing public money to make shared micro mobility more affordable and expanding bike lane networks. Operators must balance fleet expansion with utilization patterns and available resources.

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