Wheels Relaunching In Austin

AUSTIN, TX — After pausing its operations in March due to the coronavirus, scooter company Wheels is re-launching in Austin and five other cities, officials announced this week.

In addition to rebooting in Austin, the company is also kicking off again in Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Orlando and Madrid, officials said in an emailed advisory. Company officials added they have already re-launched in Stockholm several weeks ago with plans to reenter existing markets in the coming weeks.

Advancing its “Ride Safe” mission, the company has made two key hardware changes as part of its re-launch. First, is the unveiling of the industry’s first-ever self-sanitizing handlebars and brake levers enabling riders only touch clean surfaces, officials said. Second, the company added baskets to the front of its devices so that riders will be able to use Wheels, rather than a car, to shop, pick up essential items, or do errands, and to do so without having to carry those items while riding, officials added.

The transportation landscape is changing

"As cities begin to re-open and more people get back to work outside the home, transportation within cities is changing," officials said, "we think for the better. The transition to sustainable transportation is accelerating and inevitable, so electrified transport is a no-brainer. But for those who don’t have cars or don’t want them, what’s the best way to get around? Car ride-sharing requires you to be in an enclosed car with someone else, so that presents challenges. And while we’re huge proponents of public transportation, no one wants large numbers of people to be crammed inside a bus or train."

Given such changes, officials added, city after city after city is announcing new initiatives to make it easier for people to ride bikes and scooters — transportation options that are sustainable, affordable, and allow for social distancing.

"But for bike and scooter networks to help cities re-open, they have to be safe, they have to be clean, and they have to be capable of being comfortably ridden by everyone," officials noted.

Safety remains top priority

Wheels was born out of a desire to make micromobility safer, officials said, with every action driving the company forward built on the safety concerns of each community. "Our ‘safety first’ strategy led us to forego using the traditional stand-up scooter in favor of a completely different form factor – one with bigger wheels, a lower center of gravity, and a seat for more points of contact with the rider," officials said. "It also led us to be the first micromobility company to offer a smart helmet system that is integrated directly into the device."

Cleanliness is paramount amid pandemic

Company officials teamed up with NanoSeptic, billed as a leader in self-sanitizing surfaces, on a "first-of-its-kind" offering in the shared transportation space. "Through this partnership, we are rolling out retrofits to Wheels devices that include custom-made NanoSeptic surfaces on our handlebars and brake levers," officials wrote. "NanoSeptic surfaces contain mineral nanocrystals that are powered by any visible light to create a powerful and toxin-free oxidation reaction that continuously breaks down any organic contaminants at the microsocopic level without the use of poisons, traditional heavy metals or dangerous chemicals."

Wheels officials ticked off other steps taken to elevate sanitation measures for riders, teammates, and our communities:

• A 24-hour field operations team regularly sanitizing Wheels bikes at our hub locations where the bikes are set up for deployment. As part of this process, the team is running a UV wand over our bikes since they have been shown to break down the virus’s genetic material.
• All work areas at Wheels’ warehouses are separated by at least six feet, and there are hand washing and sanitizing stations located at each entrance and throughout the company's facilities.
• Work areas and tools are sanitized before and after each shift in accordance with strict sanitization procedures.
• All inbound and outbound devices at the warehouse also are sanitized, officials said, with all Wheels bikes being sprayed with a disinfectant and wiped down with a microfiber towel.
• All company warehouses are equipped with the UV wands, officials added, which are being used on all bikes and work surfaces in the warehouse.
• All team members wear PPE, including masks and gloves that are disposed of after each work shift.

Accessibility is key

The seated design of the Wheels device provides maximum comfort, officials said, and enables it to be ridden by people of all ages and sizes, including those who do not have the physical ability to stand up on a scooter or pedal a bicycle. "This allows us to significantly expand the range of people who can benefit from micromobility rather than forcing them to use transportation options that do not promote social distancing or are not sustainable," officials said.

Baskets now part of the package

"Because of Wheels’ unique form factor, we are able to put baskets on the front of our devices — something that traditional scooters do not offer — and we are now starting to roll these out, first in Los Angeles and soon in other markets," officials added. "Micromobility becomes much more practical if it can be used for shopping, picking up essential items, or doing errands, rather than simply transporting a person. It is also safer if riders do not have to carry their items while riding. By incorporating baskets, Wheels is making that possible."

The company first alerted Patch in late March of its plans to launch, alerting of a postponent of the debut as a result of civil unrest from demonstrators protesting police abuse. Protests across the country, including Austin, were sparked after the Minneapolis death of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. In honoring Floyd — "to help confront the pervasive injustice and racism that has been suffered by the Black community," as company officials put it — Wheels donated all of its proceeds from 8 minutes and 46 seconds of all riders’ first ride through June 17. The time span is the same that the officer's knee was on Floyd's neck before the man's death.

Donations were made to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Equal Justice Initiative, Color of Change and the American Civil Liberties Union, company officials said.