For more than a decade, we have seen the incredible rise in popularity of shared mobility and micromobility services that have been used by commuters to travel around cities all over the world. From the successful launch of Uber, Lyft and the sustained popularity of Paris' modern docked bicycle share service, Velib', to the launch of Alta Bicycle Share, a docked bicycle share service that was subsequently sold to Motivate prior to its acquisition by Lyft.
During this time, we also watched as the dockless bikeshare craze took hold in China under a questionable business model, only to flame out in spectacular fashion despite the popularity it enjoyed from its users. Notwithstanding its demise, the dockless bicycle share model pioneered by Chinese companies like Ofo, Mobike, and Hellobike, among others, were adapted by companies formed in the United States like Bird and Lime, two of the largest shared, dockless, micromobility companies. Despite their ability to attract large amounts of investor dollars, Bird, Lime and other shared micromobility companies with similar business operations have attracted scrutiny surrounding the sustainability of their business model. Similar scrutiny has recently been focused on Uber and Lyft as well.
Putting aside the issues stated above, these shared mobility services enjoyed a robust and loyal user base in those cities where they operated by enabling many of their users to avoid the overcrowding and annoyance associated with using mass transit. The proposition of shared mobility to me and many other commuters was an easy one to embrace: offset all of the cost, responsibility and maintenance of a personally owned vehicle by joining a shared mobility service for a fee that would take on these burdens in place of its users. This compelling customer offering applied to the personal ownership of automobiles, bicycles and e-scooters, among other forms of transportation and resonated with a respectable percentage of the commuter population in metropolitan areas.
No more would we have to worry about filling our cars up with petrol, scheduling oil changes or finding a spot on the street or in a parking garage during our daily commute to work: we could summon an Uber, Lyft or Via. No more would we have to worry about our expensive bicycles being stolen or damaged by the elements of nature or vandals while locked up on the street: we can rent a Citi Bike, Lime Bike or Jump Bike. No more would we have to worry about maintaining our e-scooters or charging their batteries (to be honest, this is a problem I never really had): we can rent an e-scooter and let someone else worry about it.
Enter the era of the Coronavirus. Not only has this pandemic forced us to embrace social distancing and shelter-in-place living, we have been forced to accept the reality of viewing what appears to be a clean surface and assuming that it contains a potentially deadly virus. We are now forced to shop for groceries while wearing a mask and then spend more time than ever cleaning those goods. Now, when we see neighbors, friends and even family, we have to assume that everyone is a carrier of COVID-19.
As a global society, we are internalizing and practicing social-distancing, washing our hands and everything else that is not hermetically sealed in a factory by machines. Given this new reality, is the lure of shared mobility still viable? Are commuters still open to sharing cars where other strangers have recently been, driven by individuals whose health status we are now trained to question? Will commuters be willing to use shared forms of micromobility, such as bicycles and e-scooters, that are used by large volumes of people without the confidence of knowing that its touchpoints are completely sanitized between each use?
Given these obvious questions, a number of mobility sharing companies have come up with ways to address its users' concerns. Lime, Bird, Spin and Motivate have each announced efforts to increase the frequency with which they plan to clean and disinfect their mobility offerings. Will their actions be enough? The sobering truth is that some of these very companies are now removing their forms of micromobility from numerous cities altogether, leaving one to assume that their publicized cleaning protocols are superficial in nature and are only being used as a mechanism to assuage their users' concerns. Along these same lines, Uber is now asking its customers to avoid using its rideshare services altogether in order to minimize the spread of the Coronavirus.
Given these developments, what is a commuter to do? Shared mobility offers convenience, relief of responsibility, and in some instances, cost savings. On the other hand, when using these services, we sacrifice reliability, consistent mechanical performance and the comfort of knowing a ride (in one shape or form) will be there when you need it. These pros and cons all have a price that each commuter has to weigh when assessing the value offered by shared mobility companies. Now, the primary factor that comes into play amongst all of the other considerations we used to take into account is potentially risking our health in exchange for relieving one of the responsibility of vehicle ownership (i.e., car, bicycle or e-scooter).
The general consensus amongst most experts to mitigate the chances of acquiring the Coronavirus is to avoid mass transit, shared mobility and other forms of transportation that service a high volume of commuters. Taking this advice on its face, when commuting from the suburbs to the city, the safest form of commuting is by driving privately owned cars and parking them in commercial parking garages (or less conveniently, on the street). It may cost a few more dollars to travel from the suburbs into the city this way, but the peace of mind achieved from avoiding shared surfaces and close quarters during a commute is priceless.
As for me, the benefits of using shared micromobility for commuting around the city have taken a back seat to my personal health. I would rather splurge on buying my own bicycle than use a shared bicycle or e-scooter that is touched by a high number of users on a daily basis. The fact that I live in a fifth floor walk-up building only leaves two questions remaining with respect to my new commuting plan: how am I going to carry my new electric bicycle down and up five flights of stairs everyday and where am I going to store it?
Photo by Thought Catalog
Comments