Micromobility bounces back as Lime posts record numbers

After a turbulent year, the dust seems to be settling in the world of micromobility.

Following bans and bankruptcies, mergers and acquisitions, consolidation in the industry could provide a welcome note of stability.

Earlier this month, Bird announced that it had “successfully emerged” from Chapter 11 proceedings after filing for bankruptcy in December 2023.

The firm was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in late September 2023 for failing to maintain a market capitalistation of US$15 million.

This occurred just days after it acquired Spin for US$19 million, and now the two entities will operate under a new private parent company – Third Lane Mobility.

In a press release, the company says the move marks “the beginning of a new chapter”, and that over the last three months both Bird and Spin have won multiple new bids and launched new services in several cities, including Corpus Christi, Texas; Greensboro, North Carolina; the University of Illinois; Surrey and Mississauga, Canada; Naples and Torino, Italy; as well as competitive renewals of service in Gap, France and Zaragoza, Spain.

“We are a substantially stronger business financially with many opportunities ahead that position us for long-term growth around the world,” said Bird’s Interim CEO Michael Washinushi.

Acquisitions and mergers

December 2023 proved to be a tough time for the industry, with Micromobility.com (formerly Helbiz) delisted from the Nasdaq for noncompliance with the stock exchange’s listing rules, and Superpedestrian shutting down its US-based shared scooter services.

Last month the company’s Europe operations were acquired by Norwegian startup Surf Beyond for approximately €5 million.

Tier and Dott announced a surprise merger In January 2024, with investors injecting an additional US$66 million into the combined business.

Further details of the company’s new strategy are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

“The closing of this transaction marks the start of an exciting new chapter for both Tier and Dott,” said Henri Moissinac, CEO, Tier-Dott. “We are focused on uniting our teams under the goal of running responsible operations for users, cities and the environment, helping to lower car use by offering a reliable and sustainable alternative.”

Speaking to Cities Today, Susan Shaheen, Co-Director at the Transportation Sustainability Research Center, UC Berkeley said a further consolidation of the industry couldn’t be ruled out.

“It’s not uncommon to see mergers and acquisitions in shared mobility industries, such as carsharing and bikesharing. Consolidation across operators occurred in carsharing in the mid-2000s and beyond.

“We also saw consolidation in the 2010s in bikesharing systems across operators, [so] it’s not unexpected to continue to observe these dynamics in the larger shared micromobility arena globally, which now includes e-scooters.”

Lime posts record bookings for 2023

Last week, Lime announced it had achieved its highest-ever number of trips in 2023 with 156 million e-scooter and e-bike rides globally. The company brought in US$600 million in gross bookings and earnings (before tax) of over US$90 million.

There are also plans to invest more than US$55 million this year to expand its global fleet, adding 30,000 new bikes.

The company has remained coy about a prospective IPO but CEO Wayne Ting has been buoyant about the latest results.

“These results are particularly impressive, because many of our friends in the industry have stumbled this year, many are in Chapter 11, or have exited operations altogether,” Ting posted. “It has been a very hard journey getting to this point, which is why we are so excited to share that Lime is self-sustaining, profitable, and thriving.”

While the exact details of a potential IPO remain under wraps, a Lime spokesperson told Cities Today: “We do not have a defined timeline at this moment, as much of this will depend on an IPO market that remains sluggish. We are focused on doing everything we need to do to be ready when the time is right, and recently brought on an experienced public-company CFO, Ann Gugino, to lead these efforts.”

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