Starting a Business in Micromobility: How to Monetize Tomorrow’s Transportation

Micromobility is a key trend in transportation. In just a few years, scooters and bikes have literally taken over cities worldwide. Once leisure or sports equipment, they have now become the primary mode of urban transportation for millions. Often referred to as “last-mile transport”, these are devices designed for short trips — let’s say, from the train station to the office, or from home to the nearest shopping mall.

What is micromobility and what drives its popularity? How can one make money on the transport of the future, and which business models in the micromobility sector bring the highest profits? We’ll go over this in the article.

What Is Micromobility?

To better understand this niche, let’s define its scope.

Since micromobility is a relatively new direction in urbanism, there is still no clear definition. However, it is most commonly understood as a system of transport solutions for short-distance trips. It includes all compact vehicles: bicycles, scooters, unicycles, hoverboards, and more — any mechanical or electric transport for individual use. 

In addition to short distances, micromobility devices are characterized by low speeds — most countries set a limit of up to 25 km/h. This is because these vehicles typically share space with pedestrians, and are most commonly used on sidewalks and bike lakes rather than on highways. 

For the same reason, most micromobility devices lack internal combustion engines. While some scooter and moped models do run on fuel, such transport is generally powered mechanically or electrically.  

This feature defines the key characteristics of micromobility vehicles: its lightweight and compact design. These parameters make it easy to carry devices when not in use and conveniently reach any nearby destination, literally door to door. 

First and foremost, it’s convenient. Especially in large cities with rapidly growing populations and overloaded transportation networks, residents no longer have to deal with traffic jams or search for a spot to park in the city center. Parking, by the way, can be quite expensive, along with fuel and other maintenance costs. Two-wheeled transport also wins in terms of affordability: unlike cars, its costs rarely exceed a few hundred dollars. 

Governments worldwide have supported this trend for two main reasons. Besides reducing road and public transport congestion, micromobility vehicles are far more eco-friendly and leave a smaller carbon footprint. Another wave of support came during the pandemic when social distancing was a priority: scooters and bikes perfectly met this need, allowing people to avoid unnecessary contact with other passengers. 

Like any other transport, micromobility devices can be privately owned or shared. In some countries, bicycles and scooters are even part of municipal networks managed by city authorities. Such systems operate, for example, in Vancouver, Barcelona, and Seoul. However, shared rentals are more commonly provided by commercial organizations.

Bicycles are currently experiencing the fastest growth in popularity: their ridership in sharing services worldwide increased by 20% in 2023. The demand for e-scooters grew by just 3% over the same period, yet they remain the most widespread form of shared mobility transport.

However, what explains the dip? Perhaps you’ve heard about the ban on electric scooter rentals in Paris that the citizens voted for in a 2023 referendum. This is probably the most well-known case. The measure was adopted in response to statistics on accidents and safety violations. 

Indeed, Europe has increasingly moved toward stricter regulation of micromobility operators in recent times. Last year’s report noted that two-thirds of EU governments have introduced some form of restrictions on riding and parking zones, fleet size, and more. 

But such measures have not reversed consumer demand or the general trend toward micromobility. The total market volume continues to grow — it’s just the distribution between transport types that is shifting. For instance, after the mentioned ban in Paris, the use of station-based bicycles increased by 144%. 

This indicates that people still prefer personal mobility devices and look for alternatives within the same category — not switching to cars or public transport. By the way, in 2021, sales of electric bicycles surpassed those of electric cars, proving this isn’t just about environmental concerns.

As long as consumer demand exists, the micromobility industry will continue to generate millions in revenue for businesses operating within it. That’s why it remains one of the most promising sectors for entrepreneurs worldwide.  

Different Types of Micromobility Business Models

The micromobility market is just gaining momentum. Analysts projected that by 2024, its global volume will reach $62.05 billion — this is 7x the budget of the Paris Olympics and 41x the cost of building the Burj Khalifa. It is expected that, in the coming years, the market will grow at an average annual rate of 18.3% and will double by 2028.

The most obvious way at a first glance is to start a production facility. A slightly simpler option would be to engage in distribution: purchasing bicycles or scooters from manufacturers, such as those in China, and selling them on your market with a markup. However, in both cases, such a business requires huge initial investments and deep industry knowledge. 

The latest trends also argue against these two models: while many people still prefer to buy their own micromobility devices, the rental market shows much more impressive growth rates.

And this is not the only advantage of the rental business for entrepreneurs. This model also minimizes risks and startup investments, while generating regular income and scaling quickly — for example, by launching and selling your own franchise.

This direction is also known as shared mobility. It’s a transportation model based on shared access to vehicles. Apart from micromobility devices, it also includes car- and ride-sharing platforms such as BlaBlaCar.

Why should this niche be considered for starting a business? The market is relatively new but already very active. Let’s look at the statistics.

In 2023, over 9 million people earned money from shared mobility services. Analysts predict that by 2030, this number will rise to 16 million. A projected growth of 77.8% confirms the high potential of this industry for entrepreneurs. 

Too competitive a niche? In fact, the number of users in this market is also growing rapidly. By 2027, it is expected to reach 5.09 billion — around 60% of the global population. Considering that transportation develops unevenly across regions, we can assert that almost all adult residents of Tier-1 and Tier-2 regions will use micromobility services in one way or another.

Each of them holds the potential for significant earnings. In 2023, the average revenue per user (ARPU) amounted to $180.90, and this figure is expected to grow despite the overall economic downturn. The reason is simple: people turn to shared mobility services largely due to their affordability amid declining incomes — renting a vehicle is significantly cheaper than owning one. Therefore, during crisis periods, this niche will show the highest growth rates.

Let’s focus on this area. There are three main ways to earn money from micromobility vehicle rentals — let’s take a closer look at each of them.

B2C (business-to-consumer)

In this model, the transportation rental service is provided to the end consumer. In other words, people rent scooters, bikes, and other devices for personal use. 

There are two main formats: classic long-term rental and short-term sharing services.

In the first case, you rent a vehicle for several hours or even days. In the second, the cost is usually calculated per minute. Another significant difference is whether the device is attached to an office or docking station. In long-term rental services, the transport usually has to be returned to point A. Meanwhile, most sharing services allow you to end the rental anywhere within the permitted ride zone on the map.

The latter is clearly more popular today. For example, this is the model used by Pulse, our customer from Ukraine. The company provides electric scooters for short-term rentals via a mobile app.

B2B (business-to-business)

In this approach, vehicles are rented out to another business — for example, for delivery services. Surely, you’ve seen Glovo, Wolt, or Uber Eats couriers riding bikes or scooters. This is one part of the broader target audience — not the entirety.

There’s an entire segment called “corporate mobility”, where companies enter into contracts with rental services  to provide employees with alternative transportation — for instance, in case of frequent trips to business meetings. Micromobility devices are ideal for short distances and eliminate the need for a company car fleet, reducing organizational expenses.

This model was recently dubbed by TechCrunch as “the next big market opportunity for micromobility”. In recent years, such devices for last-mile delivery have been actively tested by giants like Amazon and FedEx. Key factors attracting investment in this direction include the surge in e-commerce development and changes in consumer habits due to the pandemic.

P2P (peer-to-peer)

The concept is simple: one person rents out a vehicle to another. At first glance, this might not seem like a business venture but rather a side income for private individuals. However, you can act as an intermediary between the two parties — and then it becomes a scalable business.

How does it work? Think of it as Airbnb or Booking — but with transportation instead of real estate. You can create a platform where renters and leaseholders find each other. The tasks of such a service include facilitating communication between the parties, ensuring transaction security and payment transparency, managing reviews and ratings, and mediating conflicts.

The operational costs for this model are significantly lower compared to rental services: you won’t need to purchase and maintain the micromobility devices themselves, and running a website is far cheaper and easier than managing a whole fleet. 

The profit here is generated through related services, not the rental itself: these can include listing fees, transaction commissions, or ad revenue. However, you are likely to face high competition from large rental businesses.

Micromobility Services and Solutions

What do all the business models described above have in common? Their technological nature.

To rent a vehicle, you no longer need to go to a specific office, sign a paper contract, or pay in advance. These services are now accessible via smartphone: in just a few clicks, users can locate the nearest device, check its battery level, book, and pay — all in real time. 

Technology also benefits businesses. For example, AI processes user requests, and IoT modules send data on the technical condition and location of devices. Within a specialized platform, you can manage the fleet and most business processes. They also allow tracking and predicting user behavior: analytics help plan marketing campaigns and implement dynamic pricing to reduce fleet downtime.

Take Lime, the largest electric vehicle rental service, as an example. A few years ago, they integrated ticket routing and chatbots into their support services. As a result, 98% of the 1.7 million incoming requests they receive annually are tagged by AI, and 27% of responses are fully automated. This reduced response times by approximately 77%, improved customer satisfaction, and cut support costs.

And that’s just one example of automation. Similar technologies can greatly simplify tasks for both users and administrators. They can automate booking or contract signing with courier services, track available devices in real time, or manage inventory.

Need Software for a Micromobility Rental Service?

Developing software from scratch can be a real challenge. Whether you assemble your own team of developers or outsource the task, it will require tens of thousands of dollars in investment, as well as months of preparation.

Looking for an alternative, many companies consider buying a franchise, which allows launching a business with ready-made software. But even in this case, expect additional expenses. Among them are not only royalties but also other conditions imposed by franchisors: for example, buying devices from a specific (and not the most cost-effective) supplier or offering excessively large discounts that could lead to losses.

We compared starting your own sharing business and purchasing a ready-made franchise in one of our previous articles. Click the link to learn about the pros and cons of each approach, as well as evaluate them in terms of investments, payback, and scalability.

Our core service is developing software for e-scooter rentals based on a “white label” concept. This solution, based on an existing platform, can be branded and customized to your request. It operates on a subscription model and allows you to launch your sharing business in just 1 month.

A new ready-made solution has recently been released: now you can purchase the source code, deploy it on your own servers, and customize it independently.

We develop software for both short-term and long-term rentals, supporting clients at every stage of the launch. This includes sharing contacts of trusted suppliers and consulting on operational issues.

More than 15 sharing businesses have already started with us in 9 countries. Our clients’ statistics show that investments pay off within 2–3 seasons, with profitability reaching up to 50% of the initial investment.

What’s included in our software? 

It’s a comprehensive solution for starting a rental business: mobile app for users and an admin dashboard for managing operations and the fleet. The platform’s functionality is continuously expanded: we gather feedback from our clients and implement only the features that are truly needed — no fluff or marketing tricks.

The application features an intuitive interface, which we adapt to your brand. Users can flexibly manage bookings, rides, and payments, receive information about discounts and passes, and share referral codes with friends to earn bonuses.

The admin panel offers extensive functionality as well. You can track your fleet on the map, view the history of all rides, and receive real-time notifications about device errors. It also supports custom pricing and subscription settings, enabling you to offer competitive deals while accurately calculating profitability. In addition to reports on total revenue and average transaction value, you gain access to advanced analytics: with it, you can set up effective marketing campaigns and predict peak demand periods and predict periods and locations with the highest demand.