Micromobility America is set for its latest annual US-based conference, bringing together many of the leading companies, consultants, policy makers and more in the micromobility industry. Two days of e-bikes, e-scooters, and just about everything else is set to kick off later this week.
Running from October 19-20, 2023, the Micromobility America conference will showcase “over 100 speakers from different areas of the alternative transportation universe, including founders, journalists covering the industry, politicians and policymakers, investors, and so on. Over 1,500 attendees are expected to join the event, taking part in presentations, product launches, award shows, test rides, networking events, and more.”
The first day of the conference is expect to be largely industry-related, focusing on B2B (business to business) topics.
The second day will expand to include more B2C (business to consumer) subjects and will include the first ever “Ride of a Lifetime”, a mass group ride from the venue through the streets, featuring giveaways, music, and more. The group ride was inspired by the successful Rave Ride earlier this year that capped off the Amsterdam-based component of the show, Micromobility Europe.
One of the many highlights of this year’s show is a series of thought-provoking panels attended by CEOs, journalists, policy makers and other leading individuals in the industry. The panels include “The Shifting Landscape of Shared Micromobility”, “The Road to Retail: How to Sell Small EVs”, “Innovations in Last-Mile Logistics: Delivery Robots, Drones, and Beyond”, “Delivering Change: How to Get More Couriers on Two-Wheels”, and many more.
The attendee and presenter list is sprawling this year and seems to be branching out even wider, especially into the electric motorcycle space. Light electric motorcycle companies like Ryvid and Land will be in attendance, as well as what looks to be dozens of e-bike and e-scooter companies. The Startup Awards section is a great chance to see new, up-and-coming companies with fresh ideas and new takes on existing problems in the industry. The test track area brings together dozens of interesting light electric vehicles for a chance to test new rides that many people only ever get a chance to see in pictures and videos.
Ticket prices for the entire show aren’t for the faint of heart, priced at US $450 up to today (and that even includes a discount!), though the event is largely targeted towards industry and commercial attendees. For those that just want to come and test ride all of the interesting vehicles, US $10 will net you a pass to the Ride Expo on October 20 from 12:30 to 4:30 PM.
The Ride of the Lifetime festival-like group ride will likely depart from the event at the Craneway Pavillion around 4:30 PM at the end of the Ride Expo. Anyone already taking part in the Ride Expo can join up, but if you want to experience the fun while keeping it completely free, then don’t tell anyone I told you this, but you can probably just hang around the parking lot around that time with your bike or scooter, and then join in with the massive group ride through the streets when they depart the event. If the Amsterdam show was any indication, the group ride included tons of locals who just happened to be around and joined in for the fun.
To see what the group ride will likely look like, check out my video below from the Amsterdam show earlier this year. The Rave Ride starts at around 7:50.
Electrek’s Take
I attended this conference last year, as well as the European version earlier this year, and both were an awesome experience to talk to some of the most important movers and shakers across the industry. The event is heavily attended by CEOs of most of these major e-bike, e-scooter and e-moto companies.
Being able to test so many different vehicles, especially back-to-back in order to make direct comparisons, is an invaluable experience.
On a personal note, I unfortunately won’t be able to attend the show this year. I had been on the speaker list, but I live in Israel and after the Hamas terror attacks on October 7th, I’ve been supporting the defense of my country, working when I can, and protecting my family. In fact, I wrote around half of this article from my laptop in a bomb shelter after escaping the third rocket barrage today on Tel Aviv. I would love nothing more than to be spending my time at the show, discussing and riding e-bikes, e-scooters, and every other form of alternative personal transportation. But fighting the ugly evils of terrorism has taken precedent. If you are a person of faith, please pray for all of us. If you are not, I hope you will send your positive energy. Both we as Israelis and the many innocent Palestinians that do not support Hamas deserve to live in peace as neighbors in our own countries. The atrocities committed by terrorists seek to prevent that peace. Through their removal, hopefully we can find the peace we all deserve.
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