Photo: Karolis Kavolelis (Shutterstock)
EV startup Revel’s moped-share option is ending in both New York City and San Francisco, the company announced in a company-wide email on Friday, citing the need to focus on its ride-hail service, according to a company-wide email seen by TechCrunch. Revel added rideshare in June of last year as a more eco-friendly option for riders, starting with a fleet of 50 Teslas.
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That number has grown to more than 500 EVs made up of Tesla Model Ys and 3s and Kia Niros in New York City and parts of Northern New Jersey. The company will also be focusing on its EV charging superhubs. Revel founder and CEO Frank Reig told TechCrunch last year, “From day one, our mission has been to electrify cities. We do that by providing electric transportation options needed in cities, as well as building the electric vehicle infrastructure needed to make that happen.”
It appears that Revel’s shift to electric vehicles had a dismal effect on its e-moped alternative, which at one point had 6,000 vehicles across New York City, Washington, D.C., Miami, and San Francisco. In a memo to staff viewed by TechCrunch, Reig reportedly explained that “the service has been strained and ridership isn’t what it used to be.” A spokesperson told the outlet that Revel’s e-moped ridership dropped by roughly 30% since last year and it is no longer a sustainable option to keep it going.
Revel came on the scene in 2018, introducing 68 e-mopeds in Brooklyn, New York, and although it continued to expand over the next few years, the company stopped the service briefly in 2020. Revel suspended its moped ride-sharing service in New York City after a Brooklyn rider died when he crashed into a light pole in Queens, making it the second moped-related death within weeks.
In 2021, Revel re-opened its moped service in Brooklyn and expanded into Manhattan, but in November of last year, it closed down its Miami and Washington, D.C. locations. The final nail in Revel’s e-moped coffin will occur on November 18 when service will apparently shut down for good and the mopeds will be sent to a recycling facility in New York and the Bay Area.