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Scoot Networks launches one-way electric scooter trips

Katie Fehrenbacher — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 21:42:52 +0000

Jump on an electric scooter in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, drive it over to the Caltrain station on your way to work in the South Bay, and just leave it there. That’s the idea behind the new one-way trip feature, launched on Friday by the Zipcar of electric scooters, startup Scoot Networks. The service makes Scoot Networks one of the only vehicle sharing companies out there to offer such one-way trips.

One of the ideas behind the option is to provide Scoot Networks customers, many of whom are commuters, with a solution to the “last mile” of their commute. That’s the pesky problem of getting people to public transportation from their homes, when it’s a little too far to walk — sometimes people bike, own a motorcycle or scooter and park it there, drive a car to a parking lot of a public transportation spot, or even taxi.

For now, Scoot Networks is only offering one route to test out the feature — specifically between a parking area on 21st St. & Valencia St. and a garage next to the Caltrain at 4th St. & Townsend St. But if customers really like this option, expect to see more one-way routes launched this year.

Some car sharing and bike sharing networks throughout the world provide this one-way feature, but most of the car sharing networks in the U.S. (and San Francisco) like Zipcar and City Car Share don’t provide one-way trips. Could the one-way feature be enough to bring in new users to the electric scooter sharing service, launched just back in September?

Scoot Networks raised a $550,000 seed round last year and will be looking to raise a series A round this year. The startup had around 50 electric scooters parked around neighborhoods in San Francisco at launched time in September.

Check out this video interview with the Scoot Networks folks:

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Brammo scores Hong Kong government deal

Katie Fehrenbacher — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:46:52 +0000

Electric motorcycle maker Brammo says it’s scored a deal to supply the Hong Kong government and police force with its electric motorcycles. Brammo says the Hong Kong government will replace its existing gas-powered motorcycle fleet with Brammo’s Enertia (see my test drive of the Enertia below).

Hong Kong’s Water Supplies Department will use the Enertia Plus, while the Hong Kong police department will use the 2012 Enertia Plus “LE,” or the Law Enforcement edition, which has features for police. Brammo’s exclusive dealer in Hong Kong is JCAM Advanced Mobility Company.

I’m not sure how many electric motorcycles the deal entails, but I’ve asked the company and will update this when I know more. It’s gotta be sizable, particularly for Brammo, which is a small company based in Ashland, Ore.

Two-wheeled EVs in China

The electric vehicle market is being driven by sales of electric scooters, motorcycles, and e-bikes sold in China, as the Chinese government has banned gas-powered motorcycles in some places. According to Lux Research, sales of batteries for electric bikes and scooters will grow from being a $6.4 billion market in 2010 to a $10.9 billion market in 2015 (11 percent growth), led by the Chinese market. According to some statistics the market for electric motorcycles in China is expected to grow 11 percent per year through 2014 to 31.6 million units.

All the electric motorcycle, and scooter startups are angling for deals like this one, including firms like Mission Motors, Vectrix, Zero Motorcycles, and KLD Energy. Focusing on the U.S. market alone isn’t enough for these companies.

Brammo’s plans

Just last week Brammo announced it has raised another $28 million, and no doubt securing that funding had something to do with this deal. The funding was led by Polaris Industries, which makes sporting vehicles like ATVs and snowmobiles. Brammo is also backed by Alpine Energy; NorthPort Investments; the venture arm of Best Buy, Best Buy Capital; and Canadian investment firm Chrysalix.

The Enertia electric motorcycle has a 60–70 mph max speed, 40-mile range and roughly $8,000 price tag. But Brammo has been planning on building higher-end bikes, including its Empulse, which has a new battery pack, a power management system and a water-cooled motor. The Empulse has a 100-mph top speed, an average range of 60 miles per charge and an estimated starting price of $9,995.

Brammo is also building four new, 6-speed models that are using a transmission system that enables higher speeds and the equivalent of the performance of a traditional gas-based motorcycle. The transmission tech — called the Integrated Electric Transmission (IET) — will come from partner SMRE Engineering, and the prices for these motorcycles clock in around $10,000 to $12,000.

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Green Overdrive: Lit Motor’s Electric Folding Scooter

Katie Fehrenbacher — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:00:40 +0000

While there are a growing number of electric scooter and motorcycle makers out there, there’s not many that are making a cargo-carrying, foldable version. San Francisco-based startup Lit Motors has been developing an electric scooter that can carry a large box (or a person) and can fold down into almost half its driving size. For our latest Green Overdrive show, we drove around with Lit Motor’s CEO Daniel Kim on the company’s electric cargo scooter, and also checked out a prototype of its upcoming electric two-wheel car. The scooter could be available in about 6 months in the U.S. and cost around $2,000 to $4,000, though Lit Motors is looking to focus mainly on selling a more low cost version of the scooter ($500 to $800) into developing markets like India and China.

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