“I’m like, ‘Listen, man – I’m the boss. Listen to me: don’t report bad things – you’re confusing me. Email me, tell me, ‘I need [a] free unlock’ – I’ll give it to you”, he said
On the other hand, there is its timing.
“I don’t know if winter is the best time of year to start a new scooter business,” said Harry Campbell, founder of influential industry blog, The carpool guy. “When it is raining and [there’s] less rides and less tourists and things like that in the Southern California area.
Dabbagh’s TukTuk is the latest arrival in LA’s electric scooter wars, hitting the streets just as Lyft and twirl reverence.
TukTuk received a permit to operate in the city of LA in the spring. It recently opened a new headquarters and warehouse in a former skate shop in Palms, a neighborhood just north of Culver City, for the launch. The scooters cost $1 to unlock and $0.45 per minute to drive. The company also offers student discounts and unlimited free 30-minute rides for those who qualify for its low income program. Currently, TukTuk vehicles are only permitted to operate within the city of LA
It officially launched last month when it received its scooters from China. The company is rolling out the latest model Segway Ninebot electric scooters, which come with features like turn signals, front suspension and a removable battery. The company will also roll out scooters from Freego, a maker of electric scooters and bikes.
Founded in 2019, TukTuk first conducted trials in Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Valencia and Istanbul. In the Simi Valley, according to the Ventura County StarTukTuk adopted a “launch first, ask questions later” strategy – as pioneered by Bird – and was quickly taken off the streets.
Soon after, the company was hit by a global pandemic, a development that decimated the transportation industry. LA is TukTuk’s first official launch in the North American market, but Dabbagh isn’t ruling out a return to Simi Valley.
“Give me Simi Valley – it’s better than Santa Monica,” he said (although he also plans to apply to operate in Santa Monica when permit applications reopen).
A serial entrepreneur, Dabbagh has a background in the transportation industry, running a limo rental business with his family for nearly 25 years. TukTuk has no investors yet – Dabbagh pays all investment costs himself. For 2,000 electric scooters, he estimates the total at around $3 million.
Photo by Maylin Tu
Building brand trust as a competitive advantage
TukTuk doesn’t have the same brand recognition as some of the bigger players like Bird, Lime and Superpedestrian. But small businesses can still succeed, says Vince Cifani, CEO of Joyride, a micromobility platform for entrepreneurs looking to start their own scooter or e-bike business.
“Bird and Lime could tell you they’re a tech company, right? Their main skill is technology. But really, it’s an operations business,” he said.
Building brand trust without name recognition and venture backing could be as simple as providing a positive customer experience and speaking the “local voice” of the community.
“Who provides better customer support?” Is it the on-the-ground entrepreneur who lives and breathes this city all his life? Or will it be Bird or Lime who, at the slightest hint of not being profitable, could leave this town at any time.
While entrepreneurs can thrive in smaller markets and in partnerships with hotels and schools, it’s rare to see them in big cities like Los Angeles, especially when there’s so much competition. LA is an open permit market, which means it does not limit the number of businesses that can operate in the city.
According to LADOT, there were an average of 13,000 vehicles per day on city streets in 2021 and 2022, although this number varies depending on weather, season and day of the week. Each operator is authorized to deploy up to 6,000 vehicles. With TukTuk, there are now a total of six operators.
The Rideshare Guy’s Campbell noted that as vehicle quality has improved, drivers are no longer looking for a superior product, but are more likely to choose a ride based on other factors, such as convenience.
“Really, I think the barrier is just getting them to download the app,” he said.
“There’s tons of data that shows the rented scooter is the closest scooter to you,” Joyride’s Cifani added.
Small beginnings, ambitious plans
Born and raised in Syria, Dabbagh has lived in Los Angeles since 1992, making him the first local Angeleno to start an electric scooter business (Bird was founded in Santa Monica and Wheels in West Hollywood). As the business grows, he expects to hire locally.
“I am Los Angeles,” he said.
Dabbagh may have an advantage on the pitch, but the launch was not without a hitch. He said he was unaware that Culver City required its own separate permitting process when he deployed vehicles there. The city quickly asked him to remove his scooters.
Running a shared micromobility business isn’t easy, Dabbagh told dot.LA. Ordering the scooters is one thing, having them shipped is another. Then there’s assembly, battery charging, application troubleshooting, customer and staff relations, and more.
But he has big plans to expand his business into cities, counties and states like Las Vegas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Orange County, Ventura County and San Diego.
“I’m so proud of myself. I’m one of those multi-billion dollar companies — I’m like them — I have the license. They have it, but it’s my money. Not somebody else’s money .
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