Photo: Spin
Free-floating e-bikes and e-scooters are the latest mobility alternative Google Maps will offer to users looking for the best route home. People are now able to discover Ford-owned Spin vehicles in real-time on the app in 84 cities across the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Spain.
Spin is the latest to integrate its electric two-wheelers into the popular navigation platform. Other scooter rental companies such as Lime have already added their vehicles to the app since 2019. And it's not only free-floating scooters. Google Maps also includes bike-sharing information, alerts about crowded transport routes, and options from other services such as Lyft and Uber.
As micromobility gains traction as a mainstream transportation choice for those living in cities or on college campuses, e-scooters and e-bikes are increasingly being added to travel planning platforms. Following in the footsteps of its scooter rival Lime, Spin has recently been integrated into a variety of global and regional journey-planning platforms, including CityMapper, Moovit, Transit, and Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe(KVB).
Now, with the latest integration, Google Maps users will be able to see in the app the nearest available Spin e-bike or e-scooter in real-time. Not only that, but they will also be informed of the time that it takes to walk to the vehicle, the estimated battery range, and the estimated arrival time. To take their ride, users will be redirected to the Spin app, where they can pay for the vehicle and unlock it.
"With this integration, Spin is making it easier for millions of Google Maps users to easily incorporate shared bikes and scooters into their daily trips," commented Ben Bear, CEO of Spin.
"Our goal is to make it as low friction as possible for consumers to plan multi-modal journeys. It needs to be just as easy, and even more convenient to get around with bikes, buses, trains and scooters as it is with a personal car. This collaboration with Google is our biggest platform integration yet with many more in the pipeline."
As micromobility gains traction as a mainstream transportation choice for those living in cities or on college campuses, e-scooters and e-bikes are increasingly being added to travel planning platforms. Following in the footsteps of its scooter rival Lime, Spin has recently been integrated into a variety of global and regional journey-planning platforms, including CityMapper, Moovit, Transit, and Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe(KVB).
Now, with the latest integration, Google Maps users will be able to see in the app the nearest available Spin e-bike or e-scooter in real-time. Not only that, but they will also be informed of the time that it takes to walk to the vehicle, the estimated battery range, and the estimated arrival time. To take their ride, users will be redirected to the Spin app, where they can pay for the vehicle and unlock it.
"With this integration, Spin is making it easier for millions of Google Maps users to easily incorporate shared bikes and scooters into their daily trips," commented Ben Bear, CEO of Spin.
"Our goal is to make it as low friction as possible for consumers to plan multi-modal journeys. It needs to be just as easy, and even more convenient to get around with bikes, buses, trains and scooters as it is with a personal car. This collaboration with Google is our biggest platform integration yet with many more in the pipeline."
Google News