If you had your fair share of living out your European dreams as you put on your helmet, hopped on a Revel moped, and rode off into the sunset (i.e. the busy streets of New York City) we have some sad news for you–the era of Revel mopeds is coming to an end.
Founders of the Brooklyn-based company announced that the electric moped service will end in NYC this month, on Saturday, November 18th.
A statement from the company reads:
After five years, we are making the difficult decision to end Revel’s moped service in San Francisco & New York City. Mopeds are a huge part of Revel’s story and they’ve offered such a fun way to get around the city. We are grateful to all of you who have been on this journey with us.
According to TechCrunch, a spokesperson for Revel told them that moped ridership had plummeted about 30% making the service, which first launched in 2018, no longer financially sustainable.
The news shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, however, as the company had already ended the moped service last year for our friends over in Washington, D.C. and Miami. And once NYC and San Fransisco are gone, the moped market will officially come to an end.
The good news is Revel isn’t shutting down altogether.
The company bought 50 Teslas back in 2021 and launched their all-electric cab service, a service which has only grown since. The company went on to say:
This is not the end of Revel, in fact we are doing more than now ever to help cities achieve their emission reduction goals. In New York, we have 500 EVs operated by over 1,500 employee drivers delivering rides across all five boroughs. We’re also building large networks of public EV fast charging stations in New York and the Bay Area so more people can go electric.
Just last week, on Wednesday, November 1st, Revel shared on their Twitter account photos of them with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and other city officials cutting the ribbon on their “LIC Superhub”–the largest public fast charging station in Queens.
According to TechCrunch, over the next couple of weeks, Revel will start sending the decommissioned mopeds to recycling facilities in New York and the Bay Area.
So, if you haven’t had the chance to try out one of the mopeds or you have and you’re looking to have one last ride, you have until Saturday, November 18th to do so.