Passing the Torch: James Gross on the Next Chapter of Micromobility Industries

Summary

When people talk about micromobility, the focus tends to stay on vehicles, better scooters, longer-range batteries, and safer brakes. But the biggest transformation in the industry is happening somewhere far less visible: in charging. What began as an operational necessity has quietly become one of the most competitive parts of the business. Today, the companies that keep fleets powered efficiently aren’t just running scooters; they are helping define a new layer of urban energy infrastructure.From Gig Charging to InfrastructureImage Credit: BirdThe dockless scooter boom of 2017-2019 ran on gig workers collecting scooters at night and charging them on household sockets. It helped operators scale, but the model collapsed under its own weight: high logistics costs, unpredictable availability, and little control over battery health or safety. Centralised depots solved some of those problems, but they still required vans shuttling vehicles back and forth, expensive, emission-heavy, and difficult to maintain at scale. The next step forward has been to stop moving scooters to power and instead bring power closer to where vehicles operate.Lime’s Paris PilotImage Credit: LimeParis became an early testing ground for a different operational approach. In 2020, Lime began piloting swappable-battery scooters with “Station F” to assess whether field swaps could reduce reliance on vans and warehouse charging.By 2024, the company had pushed the idea further with a rider-facing model. In Paris, Lime began installing battery cabinets inside grocery stores, most prominently through a partnership with the retailer Franprix. Riders can locate these stations in the Lime app, stop during a trip, swap a low e-bike battery for a charged one, and receive around 20 minutes of free riding as a reward.This arrangement changes who participates in fleet operations. Instead of relying solely on staff or gig workers, Lime lets frequent riders do part of the work in exchange for credits. Franprix ga...