Richmond’s first-ever bike-share program has apparently shut down, leaving hundreds of abandoned and effectively useless neon cyan bikes in the city.
Bolt Mobility deployed 250 app-powered e-bikes across the city in June 2021, funded by a $1 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).
But starting in July, Richmond joined several other cities and counties across the country in signaling they were getting radio silence from the company — a Florida-based “micromobility” startup co-founded in 2018 by the silver medal-winning sprinter. Olympic gold Usain Bolt and Shervin Pishevar, a San Francisco-based venture capitalist who has also invested in companies such as Airbnb and Uber.
Bolt’s “no-dock” technology requires prospective riders to download the company’s smartphone app to locate, unlock, activate and pay for e-bikes. However, no bikes appear on Bolt’s map of Richmond, meaning they may have been taken out of the system or have dead batteries. Whatever the reason, the bikes are not currently operational.
Richmond officials are trying to come up with a plan to remove equipment that is still scattered around the city, from the Richmond Marina, Keller Beach and Point Richmond Community Center, to the Civic Center in Richmond, according to Mayor Tom Butt, according to Mayor Tom Butt. the city, the ferry terminal and the BART station. .
“Unfortunately, Bolt has apparently gone out of business without prior notification or removal of its capital assets from city ownership,” Butt wrote in a statement. Publication on the electronic forum on July 23. “They recently missed the monthly town meeting check-in and haven’t responded to all of their customers in all of their markets.”
Calls to Richmond City Hall have not been returned, but public documents show the bike-sharing scheme was proposed to help spread the health benefits of physical activity and reduce low-income household spending on transportation, especially since Richmond has traveled more than 36 miles of its San Francisco Bay Trail – more than any other city around the bay.
Locally, Bolt has also launched 300 e-bikes at stations along the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit line – also funded by a $826,000 grant from MTC – as well as a fleet in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California.
Bolt has reportedly operated in more than a dozen other states, including New York, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia, and some locations have reported their e-bike programs running without any issues.
The e-bikes – capable of reaching up to 15 mph with pedal-assist technology – cost $2 to unlock and $0.10 for each minute of an à la carte ride. Bolt too promotion of payment plans which offered 30 minutes of free driving every day with no unlocking fee – charging frequent riders $9.99 a month or even $79.99 for a year.
It’s unclear why Bolt Mobility has essentially shut down in the East Bay, especially since the company announced just four months ago that it was looking to hire full-time and part-time fleet technicians to Richmond’s e-bike operations. The company has a C+ rating by the Better Business Bureau and is not accredited, but has publicly raised at least $40.2 million, according to TechCrunch.
Several calls to Bolt went unanswered and were met with only perpetual music on hold.
It seems to be a trend; Bryan Davis, senior transportation planner for Chittenden County in Vermont, told Techcrunch his team received the same cold shoulder.
“They disappeared, leaving behind material and unanswered emails and calls,” Davis said. “We can’t reach anyone, but it looks like they’ve closed shop in other markets as well.”
And according to the most recent review on Apple’s App Store, users are also faced with unanswered questions: “What about the money I spent and my balance?” asked a frustrated customer. “Did they take that with them too?”
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