Summary

The urban transportation landscape in Washington, D.C. has experienced multiple waves of disruption since 2011, with the most recent wave involving scooters and pedal-assist bikes, which have gained major traction and disrupted traditional commuting methods.

Abstract

The urban commuting landscape in Washington, D.C. has undergone significant changes over the past five years, with multiple waves of disruption led by various transportation startups. The first wave, from 2011-2012, included the introduction of Uber, Lyft, docked bicycles, and car-sharing services such as car2go and Zipcar. The second wave in 2015 saw the emergence of budget carpooling options like UberPool, Lyft Line, Via, and Split. The third wave in 2017 brought dockless bicycles, which offered a simpler pricing structure and more convenient access. The fourth wave, from 2017-2018, introduced scooters and pedal-assist bikes, disrupting traditional commuting methods and even competing with Uber and Lyft. The author shares their own commute experience, demonstrating the advantages of scooters over traditional public transportation. Despite the improvements, there are still areas for improvement, such as weather, reservations, and road infrastructure. The article concludes with candid photos of the changing landscape in D.C.

Bullet points

Four waves of urban transportation disruption in Washington, D.C. since 2011:
- Wave 1 (2011-2012): Uber, Lyft, docked bicycles, and car-sharing services
- Wave 2 (2015): Budget carpooling options like UberPool, Lyft Line, Via, and Split
- Wave 3 (2017): Dockless bicycles
- Wave 4 (2017-2018): Scooters and pedal-assist bikes
Author's personal commute experience demonstrates the advantages of scooters over traditional public transportation
Areas for improvement: weather, reservations, and road infrastructure
Candid photos of the changing landscape in D.C.

Solving for the Last Mile of Urban Transit

The (rapidly) changing landscape of the urban commute in Washington, D.C.

Over the past 5 years, the urban commuting landscape across the United States (and worldwide) has changed dramatically. The “traditional” commute has been under constant assault.

When most people think about cities on the cutting edge of urban transportation technology, Washington, D.C. usually isn’t in their top 5.

However, surprisingly, D.C. is often a first or early market for many urban transportation startups. Here’s a quick history of the more recent waves of urban transportation disruption.

Urban Transportation Disruption in Washington, D.C.

Wave 1 (2011–2012): Uber + Lyft + Docked Bicycles + car2go/Zipcar

Why better than the status quo?

Cheaper
More convenient (remember calling a taxi company?)
Better end-to-end experience

Who got disrupted?

Taxi companies
Car rental companies

Wave 2 (2015): UberPool, Lyft Line, Via, and Split

Why better than the status quo?

(Even) Cheaper

Who got disrupted?

Taxi companies (again)
Ride-sharing companies without a budget carpooling option

Wave 3 (2017): Dockless Bicycles

Why better than the status quo?

Docked bicycles require a membership (in D.C.)
Dockless have a simpler pricing structure ($/min.)
Docked bicycles require you to locate and return a bike to a dock. These are often full for popular events (ex. a baseball game)

Who got disrupted?

Docked bike sharing (Capital Bikeshare)
Bike ownership

Wave 4(2017–2018): Scooters and Pedal-Assist Bikes (JUMP)

Why better than the status quo?

Have you ever been in DC in the summer? You don’t have to pedal hard to go up hills and you can go twice as fast for the same energy.
More fun!

Who got disrupted?

Docked bikesharing (again!)
Dockless bikesharing (already?!)
Uber/Lyft (woah!)

Thanks for reading! If you’re enjoying this post, I know you will enjoy the great content at The Modern Product Manager.

If you prefer books, I think you’d also enjoy Disrupting Yourself (How to Succeed in the New Economy) or Building Digital Products (Handbook for Product Managers).

A Tale of Two Commutes

As I’ve written about in previous blog posts, for most of my 5 years in D.C., I’ve taken the metro every day to work. Recently, I moved to a new neighborhood.

Here’s how my commute looks these days on the metro.

That’s a ~10 minute walk, a 15 minute metro ride (not counting the time waiting for the metro), and another ~10 minute walk for a total most days nearing 35–40 minutes.

Not too bad, but for an as-the-crow-flies commute of ~1.5 miles, that’s pretty slow!

Here’s how that same commute looks on a Bird scooter:

8 minutes!!! Hard to believe right?

$2.20 is even cheaper than the metro; plus it’s a lot more fun.

A trio of Bird scooters neatly parked outside my office.

Still room for improvement…

Even though pedal assist bikes and scooters have gained major traction in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, there are still a few areas for improvement in urban transit.

Weather: Still a major wild card. Who wants to ride a scooter in the rain or the cold? While that’s a more minor factor in some markets, it’s a blocker or disqualifier in others. As I write this blog post, it’s raining in Washington, D.C. and the scooters have been taken off the road.

Reservations: With both Lime Scooters and Bird, you can’t reserve a scooter and I’ve already had several cases where the scooter I was walking to got snagged before I got there. These things are popular, especially at 6pm on a Friday!

Road Infrastructure: As you’re riding along at 15–20 mph on your scooter or pedal-assist bike, you quickly realize how deficient your city is from a shared transportation perspective.

In D.C., only a few roads have dedicated bike lanes, so I often find myself zig-zagging between the road, the sidewalk, and alleys which definitely provides an adrenaline boost!