Gotcha, expanding shared micro-mobility in US
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) company Gotcha is expanding its micro-mobility offering in the United States and has announced it is now offering three customizable products: dockless bike share, 100%-electric ride share vehicles, and electric scooters. In total, Gotcha provides more than 1 million shared rides a year and reaches 1.3 million unique customers. The company also offers its partners the option to integrate their existing transit technology or app into the Gotcha app, which provides a seamless mobile connection between ride share, bike share, and now scooter share systems.
At the same time Gotcha is developing its network with new partnerships with university and city partners across the country. The company currently has more than 30 systems in place across the U.S., with plans to add 10 new cities and universities within the next six months and expand five systems to include scooters. At Augusta University’s campus there recently was the launch of JagRide, a new 24-hour bike sharing system.
The rise of bike sharing
Since December of 2016, Gotcha has partnered with private equity fund MSouth Equity Partners to support both the footprint and the mobility service offering. "There's no doubt consumers are looking for smarter, more efficient transportation solutions – particularly those that leverage existing infrastructures and are focused on sustainability," said Barry L. Boniface, Partner, MSouth Equity Partners. "Between traditional car manufacturers like Daimler and BMW planning to provide car-sharing services, and ride share companies like Uber and Lyft acquiring bike share companies, there's no sign of a slow-down in innovation when it comes to tackling transportation problems. We've invested in Gotcha because we believe in their ability to execute on the mission of sustainably solving transportation problems for universities and cities across the U.S."
U.S. bike share alone has seen immense growth with 35 million trips taken in 2017, 25% more than in 2016. Ride share systems – and most recently scooter share systems – have gained in popularity and are now becoming an integral part of last-mile mobility across the U.S.
Picture copyright: Gotcha
