The Ford-owned company adds additional U.S. and European cities to its markets and reports a steady uptick in new users and e-scooter usage
Spin, the micromobility company owned by Ford Motor Company, today launched its first international market — Cologne, Germany — and announced upcoming launches for additional German and U.S. cities. After launching in Cologne, the following week Spin will further bolster its presence in Germany by also entering two additional cities Dortmund and Essen. The following month the company plans to launch in Atlanta, Georgia and more cities in the United States.
This continued expansion comes on the heels of Spin’s growth announcement about its larger vision for European expansion in February. Since then, the leader that pioneered the modern regulatory framework for stationless mobility and known for “getting permission from cities before acting,” has applied for Lyon and Paris permits in France, and also submitted a proposal for U.K. rental e-scooter pilot schemes — setting sights on London and other cities in the U.K. including Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Throughout the fight against Coronavirus, Spin has stayed the course for its European expansion and shown strength in providing a true and sustainable transportation solution. Although the initial emergence of Covid-19 forced most e-scooter companies to shut down service, Spin emerged as one of the only operators working with numerous cities to maintain service for essential workers and provided over 11,000 free rides for healthcare professionals. After resuming operations in 14 cities in the past month alone, today Spin is operating in 25 U.S. cities.
“Spin scooters are being used now more than ever as a utility rather than for leisurely activities,” said Euwyn Poon, President and Co-Founder. “As public transit is cutting services, Spin is stepping in to help. Since April, we have experienced a 34 percent average increase in new daily active users week over week. We are also seeing a 44 percent increase in our customers’ trip duration (reaching a peak of 24 minutes per trip) in May. Spin’s long-term approach to growth is precisely why Spin has been on the leading edge of micromobility and able to grow in such a concerted way, even amid the most challenging of circumstances.”
In Germany especially, e-scooters are poised to become a favored mode of transit. Based on a recent survey conducted by Spin and YouGov, nearly 50 percent of people in Germany indicated that they are already using or planning to use a solo transportation option for commuting to and from work and for taking trips within their immediate vicinity. One-third of people believe there will be a reduction of car traffic around inner cities in a post-pandemic world and favor the use of micromobility vehicles such as e-scooters.
“We are seeing heavier adoption of micromobility all around the world especially as the need for people to commute in less crowded conditions increases,” Derrick Ko, CEO and co-founder of Spin, said. “We are continuing to carry out our mission of giving people a way to move, while supporting cities and communities during these unprecedented times. As lockdown restrictions are lifting worldwide, Spin is resuming operations in more of our markets and ready to offer our product and service in Germany.”
Throughout the unsteady landscape created by COVID-19, Spin has continued to work closely with local governments to support the transportation needs of communities at-large — offering an affordable and dependable solo form of transportation that facilitates physical distancing. Through its W-2 workforce, Spin is continuing to enact extensive safety and protocols for riders.
Through its local W-2 workforce, Spin is continuing to enact extensive safety and sanitization protocols for riders including disinfecting scooters every time they are collected and brought back to its warehouse to recharge. Every market is cleaning the main contact points of the scooters — handlebars and stem — with disinfectant wipes and spray. High traffic surfaces in Spin’s warehouses and even vehicles used to deploy and collect scooters are scrubbed down with disinfectant after every shift. Among many of the other guidelines, Spin is requiring its employees to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) including gloves, face shields or safety glasses and cloth masks.
As a precautionary measure, riders are encouraged to wear gloves or clean their hands with soap or hand sanitizer before and after each ride and practice physical distancing by staying at least six feet of distance from other people.
