Spin is a bicycle-sharing and scooter-sharing company that is owned by the Ford Motor Company. It is based in San Francisco and was founded as a start-up in 2017, launching as a dock-less bicycle-sharing system controlled by a mobile app for reservations. Spin later moved into scooter-sharing.
History
Spin was founded in 2016 as Skinny Labs, Inc. and announced in January 2017, hoping to bring Chinese-style dock-less bicycle sharing to the United States. Spin raised $8 million in Series Aventure capital financing led by Grishin Robotics in May, during preparation for a wider rollout in other cities. Spin launched in Seattle, Washington, on July 17, 2017, becoming the city's first dock-less bicycle-sharing system under new regulations from the city government. Spin debuted with 500 bicycles in Seattle, and exceeded 5,000 rides during its first week in operation, surpassing the city's former bicycle-sharing system, Pronto Cycle Share. In late July, Spin announced plans to expand to South San Francisco, California, as part of a larger national rollout. The New York City Department of Transportation, however, ordered the closure of operations in Rockaway, Queens. In February 2018, Spin rolled out scooter sharing, starting in San Francisco. The scooters were initially priced at $1 to unlock, plus fifteen cents a minute. On April 12, 2018, San Francisco's Public Works department seized several dozen Spin bikes after pedestrians objected to the bikes blocking sidewalks. The company launched in Austin, Texas, during South by Southwest in March 2017. The service was suspended by Spin within a day of launch, due to a dispute with the city government over permits and regulations. With the expiration of Seattle's bikeshare pilot program permit, Spin decided not to seek a new permit with the city and ceased their operations there in September 2018. On November 7, 2018, the Ford Motor Company announced that it had acquired Spin and aims to expand its service to more cities. The Wall Street Journal reported that Spin was valued at $80 to 90 million at the time of the purchase. Spin announced in 2019 that in August that year it would deploy 15,000 scooters in Portland, Los Angeles, Denver, Washington, DC, Kansas City, Memphis, and Minneapolis. In September 2019, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced that it has picked 4 operators, including Spin, to each bring 1,000 scooters to San Francisco effective in mid-October, thus doubling the current number allowed. Spin will expand in Europe, presenting their electric scooters rental services in Cologne, Germany in the spring of 2020. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Spin was designated as an essential service and a healthy mobility option. It continued operations, in contrast to many businesses that had to halt. The company provided free e-scooter rides to health-care and grocery-store workers in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Portland, and some other cities. In San Francisco, a hand sanitizer was attached to each scooter.
Equipment and usage
Spin uses orange-colored, three-speed bicycles equipped with onboard GPS units and cellular modems. In 2017, the price for every 30 minutes of ride was $1, or $29 per month with unlimited 30-minute rides. Bicycles are unlocked using a mobile app that scans a QR code on the bicycle. When it operated in Seattle, bicycles had to be parked in designated landscape/furniture zones on sidewalks.
