Millenials…walking around like they rent the place

Micromobility is the key disruption taking place. 

Download a “mobiapp”, find a scooter to unlock, and you’re ready to start riding.  It’s really as simple as that

We’ve had a taste in Australia with the rental bikes infesting our pavements in Australia....  OBike, Ofo, mobibike, redygo and  others infesting the streets and pavements, and then being banned or going broke. 

In the USA there is now “Scooter wars,” the “scooter invasion,” and “Scootergeddon,” where city streets are flooded with thousands of rentable dockless electric scooters. The major company so far is Bird, founded by former Uber and Lyft executive Travis VanderZanden.

Already valued at $2 billion, Bird is part of a new trend known as micro-mobility. For as little as $0.15 a minute and just $1.00 to unlock, Bird represents great value.

 

 
The companies carry a high risk, with scooters already being banned or impounded in San Francisco and Denver.  Already valued at $2 billion, 

And then there’s the ride hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft  the beginning of the “carshare”  revolution. 

The Avis Budget Group, has bought car-sharing company Zipcar in January 2013. Investors watched shares skyrocket following that purchase, from $21.00 a share to $68.00 a share over a period of just 20 months

To say that  current business models are being disrupted  at an unprecedented scale is an understatement   

The taxi industry after the emergence of ride-hailing apps.  In San Francisco, the average monthly trips per city taxi has plummeted 65%.  In New York City, the price of a single taxi medallion fell from $1.32 million to as little as $230,000 between 2013 and 2018.  And in Chicago, 42% of Chicago’s licensed taxis are now inactive.
 
The  auto industry.  Millennials have a lower rate of car ownership than previous generations did at their age.
 
Big Auto has embraced millennials’ lack of purchase commitment as an inevitability. Volvo has begun offering subscription services for its vehicles. 

It’s kind of like leasing a car, but with much more flexible terms.  The ultimate goal, though, is for auto companies to offer subscription services for automated ride-hailing services. Ford intends to develop an autonomous taxi fleet. Alphabet owned Waymo is launching a hailable fleet of self-driving minivans by the end of the year.

There is clearly a growing trend in consumer habits, particularly amongst millennials and the emerging Gen Z: the propensity to rent rather than to own - for self use. 

This is a transport revolution.... will it evolve to a SAAS model for everything?