Scoot Networks
{{About|the scooter sharing company|the low-cost airline|Scoot|other uses|Scoot (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Scoot Rides
| logo = Scoot Networks wordmark.png
| image = Scoot cargo classic quad.jpg
| image_alt = Scoot Networks Cargo scooter, Classic scooter, and Quad electric car.
| image_caption = Scoot Networks Cargo scooter, Classic scooter, and Quad electric car.
| trading_name =
| former_name =
| type = Subsidiary
| industry = Public transport
| founded = {{start date and age|2011}}
| founder = Michael Keating, Matt Ewing and Dan Riegel
| hq_location_city = San Francisco, California
| hq_location_country = United States
| area_served = San Francisco Bay Area, Santiago and Barcelona
| key_people = Michael Keating (former CEO & president)
| services = Public electric scooter sharing systems
| parent = Bird Global
| website = {{URL|https://scoot.co}}
}}
Scoot Networks, also known as just Scoot or Scoot Rides, is an American company which provides public electric scooter and electric bicycle sharing systems. The company is based in San Francisco, California.
History
Scoot was founded in 2011 by Michael Keating. In 2012 he was joined by co-founders Matt Ewing (CCO), and Dan Riegel (CTO).{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=214642128|title=Scoot Networks, Inc.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg|website=www.bloomberg.com|access-date=2018-05-27}}{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/12/scoot-the-zipcar-for-scooters-grabs-550k-in-seed-funding/|title=Scoot, The "Zipcar For Scooters," Grabs $550K In Seed Funding|last=Perez|first=Sarah|website=TechCrunch|date=September 12, 2012|access-date=October 9, 2019}} Keating, Scoot's CEO, had a background in transportation software and urban planning, Ewing previously worked with MoveOn advocacy group, and Riegel was a co-founder of EnergyHub.
The company was the first to offer electric vehicle rentals through a smartphone app.{{Cite patent|country=US|number=10086796|title=Systems and methods for regulating vehicle access|pubdate=2018-10-02|inventor1-last=Keating|inventor1-first=Michael|inventor2-last=Passmore|inventor2-first=J. Loren|inventor3-last=Russo|inventor3-first=Peter R.|assign=Scoot Networks Inc.}}
By September 2012, the company had raised $775,000 from investors including Lisa Gansky and Greenstart.{{Cite web|url=https://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/12/scoot-networks-is-the-zipcar-of-electric-scooters/|title=Scoot Networks is the Zipcar of Electric Scooters|last=Michelsen|first=Charis|website=cleantechnica.com|date=2012-03-12|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-27}}
The company opened its service to public beta in San Francisco on September 26, 2012, with 10 electric motor scooters.{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/26/scoot-sf-launch/|title="Zipcar For Scooters" Startup Scoot Networks Launches To The Public In San Francisco|last=Lawler|first=Ryan|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|date=2012-09-26|access-date=2018-05-27}} Their fleet expanded to 50 in late 2012.
In 2014 the company introduced motor scooters with batteries that could be swapped at the curb by a technician in order to recharge the scooters without plugging them in. This enabled customers to end their rental by parking the scooter at the curb rather than in a garage with a power outlet - so called "free floating" vehicle sharing. This began a process that led to SFMTA issuing the world's first on-street parking permit for free-floating electric two-wheelers.{{Cite web|last=fpadmin|date=2017-06-13|title=Up for Approval: A New Type of Parking Permit for Shared E-Mopeds|url=https://www.sfmta.com/blog/approval-new-type-parking-permit-shared-e-mopeds|access-date=2020-09-30|website=SFMTA|language=en}}
In August 2015 Scoot expanded its fleet to more than 400 with the addition of cargo scooters from German manufacturer GOVECS.{{Cite web|title=Scoot's New Cargo Line Of Scooters Can Carry Taller People And More Stuff|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/08/10/scoots-new-cargo-line-of-scooters-can-carry-taller-people-and-more-stuff/|access-date=2020-09-14|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US}} The larger vehicles were intended to accommodate larger riders and couriers who rented them to make deliveries.
In October 2015, Scoot added electric mini-cars to its sharing service in partnership with Nissan and Renault. Marketed as Scoot Quads, the cars were Renault Twizy heavy quadracycles available for the first time in the United States as a pilot project.{{Cite news|last=Balise|first=Julie|date=2015-10-17|title=Scoot Networks adds electric cars to fleet of shared vehicles|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/tech/article/Scoot-Networks-adds-electric-cars-to-its-fleet-6574999.php|access-date=2020-09-14|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|language=en-US}}
In 2016, the company received additional funding, primarily from Mahindra Partners and Vision Ridge Capital, for a new fleet of hundreds of electric motor scooters by GenZe.{{Cite news |last=Shahan |first=Cynthia |date=2016-07-07 |title=Scoot Networks Expanding With GenZe Electric Scooters -- 1,000,000 Zero-Emission Miles To Date |url=https://cleantechnica.com/2016/07/07/scoot-networks-expanding-genze-electric-scooters-1000000-zero-emission-miles-date/ |access-date=2018-05-27 |website=cleantechnica.com |language=en-US}}{{cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Companies/MlWLxxv2nS0sx4weqRQudJ/Mahindra-Partners-funds-US-urban-mobility-firm-Scoot-Network.html|title=Mahindra Partners funds US urban mobility firm Scoot Networks|website=Livemint|date=June 28, 2016|access-date=October 12, 2019}} By July 7, 2016, Scoot motor scooters had collectively accumulated over 1,000,000 miles of riding.
In June 2017, the company added Kunal Bhasin on the executive team as CTO to scale technology and product.
In November 2017, indicated its intentions to expand and include additional cities beyond San Francisco.{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Scoot-Networks-plans-expansion-of-scooter-sharing-12395033.php|title=Scoot Networks plans expansion of electric scooter rentals to Barcelona|last=Thadani|first=Trisha|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=2017-11-30|access-date=2018-05-27}}
The company expanded to Barcelona in May 2018 with 500 electric motorbikes and the addition of bike sharing to its services with 1,000 electric bikes.{{Cite news|url=https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/30/scoot-electric-bikes-barcelona/|title=Scoot adds a bike-sharing service as it expands to Barcelona|last=Baldwin|first=Roberto|website=Engadget|date=2018-05-30|access-date=2018-06-04|language=en-US}}{{cite web|url=https://www.axios.com/amid-the-scooter-wars-1527630494-71d406ae-f5d6-40b0-a46d-a7424fb67fd0.html|title=Scoot is expanding to Spain and adding bikes|last=Kokalitcheva|first=Kia|website=Axios|date=May 30, 2018|access-date=October 12, 2019}}
The company expanded to Santiago, Chile in October 2018 with electric stand-on scooters and later electric bicycles.{{Cite web|title=Scoot brings electric scooter rentals to Santiago, Chile|url=https://www.engadget.com/2018-10-19-scoot-brings-electric-scooter-rentals-santiago-chile.html|access-date=2020-09-14|website=Engadget|date=19 October 2018 |language=en}}
In October 2018, Scoot and competitor Skip were the only two companies granted permits by the City of San Francisco to operate shared, electric stand-on scooters in the city.{{Cite news|date=2018-08-31|title=Scooters to return to SF; Scoot, Skip picked as Lyft, Uber spurned|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Scooters-to-return-to-San-Francisco-city-picks-13194487.php|access-date=2020-09-14|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|language=en-US |last1=Said |first1=By Carolyn }}
In July, 2019, after serving hundreds of thousands of riders with millions of rides, Scoot and its 200 employees were acquired by Bird, a competitor, for an undisclosed value. Scoot Rides became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bird.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-bird-scoot-scooter-acquisition-20190612-story.html|title=Bird buys Scoot — and a back door into San Francisco's rental scooter market|last1=Dean|first1=Sam|last2=Bhuiyan|first2=Johana|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=2019-06-12|access-date=2019-06-13}}{{Cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2019/06/12/bird-buys-scoot-electric-scooters/|title=Bird Buys Competitor Scoot, Further Consolidating the Crowded Scooter-Rental Market|last=Abril|first=Danielle|website=Fortune|date=2019-06-12|language=en|access-date=2019-06-13}} In December 2023, Bird filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company has plans to restructure and sell some of its assets to some of its existing lenders.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bird-electric-scooter-company-files-for-bankruptcy-after-2021-spac-96ca4a10|title=Bird Electric Scooter Company Files for Bankruptcy After 2021 SPAC|date=December 20, 2023|access-date=December 20, 2023|website=The Wall Street Journal|language=en}}
Services
File:Scoot in San Francisco - May 2018 (1300).jpg
Scoot provides an online network for sharing electric scooters, electric bikes, electric motorbikes, and electric cars, which are also owned and maintained by the company. The service has been referred to by the media as the "Zipcar for scooters". Unlike Zipcar, most Scoot vehicles are used for short, one-way trips within the city, typically under 20 minutes and under 4 miles in distance. They are usually parked on the street throughout the city rather than in specific garages, and are accessed through a smartphone app rather than an RFID card.
In August 2018, the company was also chosen as one of the providers of San Francisco's scooter-sharing system using dockless electric kick scooters.{{cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Scooters-to-return-to-San-Francisco-city-picks-13194487.php|title=Scooters to return to SF; Scoot, Skip picked as Lyft, Uber spurned|first=Carolyn|last=Said|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=August 30, 2018|accessdate=August 30, 2018}}
In August 2019, Los Angeles Times criticized the company for not providing services to the residents of Tenderloin and Chinatown.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2019-08-14/san-francisco-scoot-tenderloin-bird|title=Scooter start-up promised to serve a whole city. Then it cut out two poor areas|last=Bhuiyan|first=Johana|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 16, 2019|access-date=October 9, 2019}} The San Francisco Examiner reported that neighborhood residents had requested that Scoot not offer service on especially crowded blocks of their neighborhoods.{{Cite web|date=2019-08-16|title=Did Scoot 'redline' SF neighborhoods? Chinatown group says 'we asked for it'|url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/did-scoot-redline-sf-neighborhoods-chinatown-group-says-we-asked-for-it/|access-date=2020-09-14|website=The San Francisco Examiner|language=en-US}}
The service utilizes GPS to track the vehicles. Riders of scooters are required to have a valid driver's license, but not a motorcycle license. Riders are provided insurance by Scoot Networks. Each motor scooter has helmets stored in their cargo bin for the rider's usage.
File:Barcelona motos scoot networks.jpg
= Pricing =
The prices of the most popular products are as following, currently as of October 2018 (in US-Dollars):
- Scoots (electric mopeds): starting from $4
- Kicks (electric scooters): starting from $1
= Target audience =
The target audience is 18- 45-year-old users, who have access to the scoot mobile app via their smartphone.
Operations
Scoot Rides' headquarters are located in San Francisco, California. Scoot directly employed over 100 people in San Francisco, including engineers, designers, mechanics, customer service staff, and managers. Scoot's European headquarters was in Barcelona where the company employed more than 50 managers, marketers, customer service staff, mechanics, and other technicians.{{Cite web|last=Rolandi|first=Alex|title=Californian electric vehicle sharing company sets up Barcelona base|url=http://www.catalannews.com/business/item/californian-electric-vehicle-sharing-company-sets-up-barcelona-base,%20https://www.catalannews.com/business/item/californian-electric-vehicle-sharing-company-sets-up-barcelona-base|access-date=2020-09-14|website=www.catalannews.com|language=en-gb}} Scoot's Latin America headquarters was in Santiago, Chile where the company employed more than 30 managers, marketers, customer service staff, and technicians.
Fleet
In San Francisco, Scoot Rides utilized electric scooters made by several different manufactures including GOVECS and GenZe,{{Cite news|url=https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/18/genze-e-scooter-partners-postmates/|title=GenZe E-Scooter Partners With Postmates|last=Zart|first=Nicholas|website=cleantechnica.com|language=en-US|date=2017-07-18|access-date=2018-05-17}} a company owned by the Mahindra Group, whose private-equity business, Mahindra Partners, has invested in Scoot.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/racing-down-new-roads/article9935184.ece|title=Racing down new roads|last=Balakrishnan|first=Paran|newspaper=Business Line|access-date=2018-05-17|language=en|date=2017-10-31}}{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/happy-to-see-government-creating-aspiration-for-electric-mobility-anand-mahindra/articleshow/62960701.cms|title=Government creating aspiration for electric mobility: Anand Mahindra|last=Rai|first=Nayantara|newspaper=The Economic Times|date=2018-02-17|access-date=2018-05-17}} The company also offered quadracycles from Renault and various electric stand-scooters before being acquired by Bird and switching to Bird's scooters.
In Barcelona, the company utilized electric scooters by Spanish company Silence and electric bicycles made for the company by Taioku.
In Santiago the company offered electric scooters and electric bicycles.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Official website|https://www.scoot.co}}
{{Scooter sharing systems}}
{{Bicycle sharing systems}}
Category:Companies based in San Francisco
Category:Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area
Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023
Category:Bicycle sharing companies