140: What is Micromobility and why does it matter? (2022 edition) with Horace Dediu

06/29/22 • 83 min

This week Horace and Oliver were together in person for the first time in nearly two and a half years as they got ready for the Micromobility Europe conference. One of the things that they love to do every so often is to revisit the Micromobilty thesis. They want this to be the episode you share with everyone who is perhaps interested in what all the fuss is about. If you’re a first time listener, Horace Dediu is the creator of the term Micromobility, and this podcast was where he and Oliver first started talking about it. They’ve now done over 140 episodes, covering all manner of lightweight electric vehicles including interviewing CEOS/founders in this space from companies like Vanmoof, Cowboy, Onewheel, Unagi, Segway, Arcimoto and more, while also talking to shared operators such as Tier, Lime, Bird, Dott, Revel and Beam. They try to focus on the intersection between the new vehicle tech, cities and consumers, using the disruptive innovation framework developed by Clay Christensen to ask what jobs are being solved, why these small and low cost vehicles are interesting, and what the implications will be on wider society. Specifically they tackle: - Where the insight for micromobility came from - The core tenets of what it is - electric, lightweight, utility - Why it matters including how the world is urbanising, how we need to radically reduce emissions per vehicle, how most trips are short trips and how small vehicles evolve faster than small vehicles etc. - Why it is significant to transport systems in terms of enabling point to point transport in dense urban areas - What we got wrong in the last four years

Previous Episode

139: Designing iconic ebikes - Job Stehmann, Chief Product Officer at Vanmoof

This week Oliver speaks with Job Stehmann from Vanmoof. Job is the chief of product design and technology at Vanmoof and responsible for bringing you the beautiful bikes that they produce. Specifically they tackle: - Vanmoof’s new bikes, the A5 and the S5 and the innovations that they have on them. - The wider context of Micromobility and design, and what works. - Job's journey with Vanmoof from where it was when he arrived (around the start of ebikes) to now, and how that journey has been for him - Vanmoofs pivot to proper integration of a phone/app and how Job sees that integrating with the overall experience. - What Job is excited about in micromobility design overall. Learn more about Job and Vanmoof by heading to their website. Our sponsor for this episode is Joyride. Joyride’s SaaS platform powers every point of the micromobility journey, from vehicle selection to turnkey software to extensive resources. As one of the world’s first micromobility platforms, Joyride’s shared mobility customers span more than 200 global markets and thousands of multimodal vehicles. These micromobility operators - no matter their size - are on a fast-tracked road to profitability with Joyride’s low-cost operating platform, exclusive hardware deals and industry hand-holding through obstacles like insurance, RFP writing and data compliance.

Next Episode

141. How tilting unlocks micromobility for the mainstream - The story of Nimbus with CEO Lihang Nong

This week we share an interview with Lihang Nong, CEO and founder of Nimbus. Nimbus recently went public with their vehicle, the Nimbus One, in a Techcrunch article. Oliver has been talking to Lihang for years and was excited to be able to interview him and bring a bit more of the story for you.