The scooter killer

There’s a challenger to the scooter fad on the rise: electric mopeds.

A new company called Revel ($4.5M raised) recently unleashed a fleet of ~1,000 Vespa-style vehicles in Brooklyn and Queens and is slated to expand to Washington, D.C. later this month.

The moped difference: Revel’s mopeds can go up to 30 miles per hour, which is 15 m.p.h faster than electric scooters. The mopeds are also constrained to city roads, and can’t be driven on sidewalks, in bike lanes, over bridges or in tunnels. And in places like New York — where scooters are banned — mopeds are allowed under state law. 🚫

How it works: For your first ride, you’ll receive a brief tutorial on Revel’s app that covers things like how to start and accelerate. You’re also required to wear a helmet, which Revel provides in the vehicle’s trunk (though some users are leaving their leftovers in there). Every ride costs $1, and 25 cents per travel minute. 🏍

Revel is reminiscent of Scoot, a San Francisco-based moped startup that was early to electric ridesharing. Some thoughts from their Product Hunt launch four years ago:

“I'd dare say this qualifies as alternative transport and at $2 bucks a ride, I can't wait to see this expand to new markets.” - Josh

“I tried to incorporate scoot into my daily commute, but getting one in the morning to get to work and back was a coin-toss.” - Hari

“Getting around SF on a scoot is seriously the most fun you'll have commuting, visiting friends, or just plain taking a joyride. The fact that it's cheap is just an added bonus.” - Carly

Bird acquired Scoot for reportedly less than $25M two months ago.

Quick poll! Would you use Revel if it came to your city? Vote here.

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