Negative Spin: Coronavirus and Shared Mobility

Prior to the seismic shift in global social interaction due to the spread of the Coronavirus, services provided by the relatively new wave of shared mobility companies appeared to be an unquestionable win for the urban commuter: non-tax supported forms of transportation that, in many cases, serve commuters in transportation deserts and aid individuals during the first and last mile of their commutes. Putting aside questions relating to the sustainability of these newer mobility companies' business models and the negative connotations that some of these entities have attracted by embracing the gig economy, the concept of shared micromobility is widely viewed as a positive development for urban commuters as evidenced by their popularity.

The selling point of shared mobility is a compelling one: offset all of the cost, maintenance, risk of theft and responsibility of owning a bicycle or scooter by paying a comparatively small fee each time one shares a form of micromobility to get from point A to point B. Up until the spread of Coronavirus, this business proposition seemed very attractive to commuters on a global basis. As an example, the City of San Francisco reported in 2019 that the average number of daily trips using shared bicycles, scooters and e-bicycles to commute around the city amounted to 8,600. As disclosed in 2019 by the City of New York, the average daily number of urban commuters who reportedly used the city's shared bicycle system, known as Citi Bike, amounted to approximately 48,000 daily trips. These numbers are even more impressive if you take into account the hundreds of thousands of other urban commuters who tried to use a bicycle or scooter operated by these shared mobility companies but were not able to do so due to the limited quantity of shared bicycles and e-scooters in circulation, an inherent drawback (and the most common complaint) of the shared mobility business model and a testament to their popularity in urban centers.

As the lives and daily habits of millions urbanites have been significantly altered due to the spread of Covid-19, accompanied by obsessive hand washing and the avoidance of high touch surfaces, as recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, urban commuters will have to determine for themselves whether the benefits of shared mobility and taking mass transit outweigh the daunting prospect of exposing themselves to the Coronavirus.