Consolidation in the “meta-search” for “shared-urban-micro-mobility” space. It inspired me a few thoughts:
👉 My first e-scooter ride (maybe on a Lime) was only four years ago, and now Cogo compares 30 e-scooters, 18 e-cars, 50 e-bikes and 20 e-mopeds. These electric devices serve urban micro-mobility (short distances) and are shared by a community of users – where you are the driver (unlike ride-hailing a Uber or taxi).
👉 There is a natural trend, once a market becomes mature with a lot of competing players, to use a “meta-search” to compare and find the best option, unless one player was able to build trust and loyalty
👉 A content aggregator like Cogo sends you directly to the selected operator, with a kind of deep link to the operator’s app. Similar to what we have in air travel. I wonder what kind of business model and API integration they use.
👉 How safe is this kind of mobility in a city divided between streets for cars and sidewalks for pedestrians? Will this micro-mobility trend push cities to design more bicycle lanes and parkings?
👉 The growth in urban ground mobility is fascinating. It is driven by 1) mobile apps 2) device tracker 3) electric engines. Interesting that in the 100+ names listed by Cogo we don’t see the traditional bike or moped manufacturers.
👉 The growth in Urban Air Mobility is coming soon. I can’t wait to book my commute with an air taxi (eVTOL) and do the last mile on an e-scooter 🙈
https://www.phocuswire.com/Cogo-acquires-eScoot
