The Micromobility Podcast

How do you build a shared micromobility business that grows rapidly and stays profitable every year? Recorded live at Micromobility Europe 2026 in Berlin, Ryde CEO Tobias joins Prabin to unpack the decisions behind the company’s growth: keeping operations in-house, running a lean headquarters, promoting mechanics into leadership roles, and reinvesting profits into expansion. We discuss Ryde’s entr...

The Netherlands has more bicycles than people, 40,000 kilometers of cycling infrastructure, and a cycling culture that has become the envy of cities around the world. But it wasn't always this way. In this episode of The Micromobility Podcast (#268), Prabin Joel Jones sits down with Chris Bruntlett, International Relations Manager at the Dutch Cycling Embassy , to explore how the Netherlands trans...

Seattle has quietly become one of America’s biggest shared micromobility success stories. In 2021, the city recorded roughly 2.3 million shared micromobility trips. By 2025, that had grown to 10.53 million trips , with another ~20% growth underway in 2026. In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with Kim Pearson, Shared Mobility Program Manager at the Seattle Departm...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones sits down with Alan Zhao, General Manager of Segway’s Commercial Division, to discuss the evolution of shared micromobility and Segway’s role in shaping the industry. Alan has been part of Segway’s sharing business since the early days, when the team was only a few people. The conversation covers the rise of shared scooters, the trans...

Recorded live at Micromobility Europe 2026 in Berlin, this fireside chat features Christian Springub, Co-Founder & CEO of Dance, discussing the journey of building one of Europe’s most recognizable e-bike subscription companies — and the road that ultimately led to Dance joining forces with Swapfiets. Coming from a software and tech background, Christian and his co-founders set out to build so...

What is Mobility as a Service, and can it really replace the convenience of owning a car? On this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, hosted by Prabin Joel Jones, CEO of Micromobility Industries, Sampo Hietanen, widely credited with coining the term Mobility as a Service (MaaS), takes us through nearly two decades of thinking, building, experimenting and learning about the future of mobility. Fr...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones sits down with Tomi Viiala, former CEO of Stromer, to talk about building one of the most distinctive premium e-bike brands in the world and his next, far more ambitious project: Viiala. Tomi spent more than a decade at Stromer, helping take the Swiss speed-pedelec company from startup to an international brand operating across 25 cou...

At Micromobility Europe 2026, Philippe Crist is joined by Fredrik Hjelm, CEO of Voi Technology, and Maxim Romain, CEO of Dott, for a discussion on how Europe's leading operators are navigating the industry's next chapter. After years of rapid growth, market consolidation, and changing investor sentiment, both companies are now profitable and focused on long-term growth. The discussion covers: • Ho...

Long before dockless bikes and scooters became a global industry, Ryan Rzepecki was building connected bicycles. In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Ryan tells the remarkable story of Social Bicycles, its transformation into JUMP Bikes, and the decade-long journey that ultimately led to its acquisition by Uber. Ryan explains how his team built connected bikes before IoT technology became...

Why does cycling continue to lead the micromobility revolution? At Micromobility Europe 2026 in Berlin, Henk Swarttouw , President of the European Cyclists' Federation ( ECF ), joins Karen Vancluysen , Secretary General of POLIS , to discuss why cycling remains the backbone of sustainable urban mobility.  They explore how cities should rethink street space, the rise of autonomous vehicles, the imp...

What does it take to build one of Europe's largest bike-sharing operators over 22 years? At Micromobility Europe 2026 in Berlin, Johan Høgåsen-Hallesby sits down with Sebastian Popp to explore the evolution of bike sharing—from manually unlocking bikes via a hotline in 2004 to operating integrated mobility networks across more than 400 cities today. Sebastian shares the story of Nextbike's early y...

Patrick Bion, Co-Founder and CEO of Minimal, joins Prabin Joel Jones on the Micromobility Podcast to talk about the future of last-mile delivery, right-sized vehicles, and why cities need a new generation of commercial vehicles. Patrick has spent more than a decade building electric vehicles, starting at Tesla in the early days of Model S, Model X and Model 3, before moving to Arrival, where he wo...

Brussels has announced plans to ban shared e-scooters from January 2027, sending shockwaves through the micromobility industry. In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones sits down with Dott Co-Founder and CEO Maxim Romain for a candid, in-person conversation at Dott's headquarters in Amsterdam. Maxim shares his reaction to the Brussels decision, why he believes the reasons gi...

Shared micromobility is no longer just a startup experiment. It’s becoming real urban infrastructure. In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones sits down with Tobias Balchen, CEO of Ryde, one of the most profitable shared micromobility operators in Europe. Ryde grew revenue from $28.4M in 2023 to $75.5M in 2025 while maintaining industry-leading profitability. Tobias breaks d...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with Caroline Samponaro, VP of External Affairs at Lyft Urban Solutions, about building and scaling some of the most successful public bike share programs in the world, and why she believes the station-based model is the future of urban micromobility. Caroline shares her journey from bicycle activist and community organiser in...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with Wim Ouboter, Founder & CEO of Micro Mobility Systems and the inventor of the modern kick scooter, about building one of the most iconic micro vehicles in history and then betting everything on the microcar. Wim shares the story behind the Micro scooter's creation, how it scaled to 80,000 units a day, and what happened...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with Kevin Talbot, Managing Partner at Relay Ventures and one of the earliest investors in Bird, about the rise, challenges, and future of shared micromobility. Kevin shares the inside story behind Relay Ventures’ investment in Bird, the creation of Bird Canada, and how the franchisee eventually took over the global company. Th...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with David Powe, Assistant Commissioner at the Chicago Department of Transportation, about how Chicago is scaling micromobility across the city. They explore the rapid growth in ridership, the expansion of Divvy bike share, and the rise of scooter use led by Lime. The conversation covers how infrastructure, pricing, and public-...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with Brandon Schuh, Senior VP & Head of Specialty Insurance at Christensen Group, about the evolving role of insurance in the micromobility industry and why it has become a critical piece of the ecosystem. Brandon shares his perspective from working closely with operators across the space, breaking down how insurance has sh...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General of Polis Network, about how cities across Europe are navigating the rise of micromobility and what separates those that succeed from those that struggle. Karen shares insights from over 30 years in urban mobility and more than 20 years at Polis, offering a behind the scenes look at how c...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with Marcus Adolfsson, CEO of Standab, about one of the most overlooked yet critical parts of shared micromobility: charging infrastructure. Marcus shares how Standab evolved from solving scooter parking challenges in Stockholm to building a data-driven charging network now operating across multiple European cities. The convers...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones sits down with Candice Xie, Co-founder and CEO of Veo, to explore how a company that raised just $16 million built one of the only genuinely EBIT-positive shared micromobility businesses in the United States. Candice walks through Veo's journey from a garage in Chicago to over $50 million in revenue, covering the decision to build the...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones speaks with Kristian Brink, CEO of Urban Sharing about how bike share is evolving from rapid expansion to smarter, more sustainable operations. From rebuilding Urban Sharing after COVID to unpacking global trends across Europe and Latin America, this conversation explores what is actually driving the next phase of micromobility. In th...

In this episode of the Micromobility Podcast , Damian Young, Founder and CEO of Zeus Scooters, joins the show to discuss the company’s journey from launching in smaller European cities to acquiring the assets of Superpedestrian. Zeus took a different path from many micromobility operators. Instead of chasing mega-cities and raising massive venture rounds, the company focused on smaller markets, bu...

On this week’s Micromobility Podcast, Prabin Joel Jones sits down with Chris Yu, Co-Founder and President of ALSO, the Rivian spin-off bringing a fresh wave of ambition into micromobility. Chris explains why ALSO was created, why Rivian saw an opportunity beyond cars, and why the company believes smaller electric vehicles will play a central role in the future of transportation. They dive into ALS...