Legendary and Olympic gold medalist sprinter Usain Bolt’s try at being a pro footballer may not have worked out, but he has another passion he is now focused on.
He has started an e-scooter company called Bolt Mobility. The Miami Beach-based company has quietly joined the growing number of e-sccooter companies vying to be your last mile solution in micromobility. Other investors include Miami venture capital firm Rokk3r Fuel ExO and Yucaipa Companies
Founded in 2018, the firm had its national launch in March in Fort Lauderdale, Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia. Now the firm has launched in Atlanta with at least 80 scooters. The firm has also lunched in the Paris scooter market where electric scooters have become wildly popular but also controversial over the last year. Some 450 scooters with his name on them will deployed on the streets of Paris over the coming days.
One of the features setting the new scooter other is a swappable batteries. The firm also points out there is a space for shopping bags, purses and backpacks, phone chargers, cup holders and parallel foot pads that allow riders to ride with their feet placed on each side of the scooter. This design believes creates a “lower center of gravity for safer, more comfortable rides.”
“I am an Olympic athlete. They call me the fastest man on earth. One thing is for sure: I run. I run everywhere,” said Usain Bolt in a press statement. “I have run in cities all over the world, and I can tell you first hand that traffic is getting worse and worse in every city on every continent on earth. The air quality is also getting worse, and I feel that now is the time that we must do something about it. That’s why I am so proud to be an advisor and investor of the Bolt Mobility electric scooter – a mode of transportation that will truly change the way people move.”
The firm also employs a feature that requires riders to locate, operate, and become acquainted with the braking system before starting a ride. This feature is the first-of-its-kind in the industry, according to the company. (We here at ToT have not seen that in all the rentals scooters we have used around the world)
Additional Bolt e-scooter safety measures include:
- Aluminum frames
- Duel brakes
- Bright LED front and rear lights
- Large 10-inch wheels made for urban environments
- Exclusive foot pads that allow a rider to have both feet facing forward creating greater balance and control.
Bolt Mobility employs a 24/7 customer support service to address feedback from riders and make sure e-scooters are used and parked in in manor per the rules of cities they operate in. . Bolt also has full-time employees – not contractors – doing the work. The use of contractors was one of the reasons why Bird failed to be chosen as part of the San Francisco e-scooter rental pilot program.
