Mardi Gras E-bike Experiment

Transportation-As-A-Service (TAAS): It's fun to say, but is it fun to do? Let's try.

Hey My Next Electric Fam,

E-biking is always a great way to get around New Orleans, but Mardi Gras is when it feels most like travel-by-magic-carpet. There’s no better time and place to ride electric.

Which reminds me, I’ve got a fleet of e-bikes ready to ride!

• I’m making the My Next Electric fleet available for $90/week. (Shops here charge more for just one day.)

• You can ride between Sunday, January 22 and the end of February.

• If you can’t afford $90/week, you can propose a discounted rate.

Who’s this for? Everyone, silly.

If you’re in New Orleans, this is the time to really give the e-bike life a try. Grab a friend. Grab a couple for your family or visitors. Just try this out for a week and see how it fits into your day-to-day.

If you’re not in New Orleans, I hope you’ll feel like you’re a part of this, too. Think of anyone you know headed here for Mardi Gras — send them my way. And keep an eye on what we learn here — this fleet idea’s something we’re considering for other towns where our alumni community’s growing.

If there’s more demand than bikes, we’ll limit folks to just one week and/or go in this order:

• Alumni of our class on going electric

• Newsletter subscribers

• Friends of the above

The Bikes

These are brand-new Rad Mission One bikes that I’ve assembled and shaken down here in my bike shop. They’re delightful, super-solid bikes. Here are a few reviews. And some specs:

• Single-speed, Pedal-assist and twist-throttle

• Top speed: 20 with no pedaling, up to 28 with the motor helping you pedal

• Range: 25 if not pedaling, 45 if pedaling

• Built-in lights, front and rear

• Lock and key for both battery and lock, Charger, Kickstand

• Two bikes with fenders, two without

• Two with top-tube, two with lower step-through tube

The Price: $90/week

Local shops charge between $60 and $150/day. Most don’t let you have bikes for more than a couple of days.

One-day of e-biking isn’t what this experiment’s for; I want you to live with the bike(s) and see how e-biking fits into your life. What’s easy? What’s hard? What surprises you? Which car trips you don’t take? Which trips do you take that you wouldn’t have taken at all?

To get started

1. Tell me when you want to start your week. You’ll get three options. I’ll do my best to accommodate as many people as possible. First come, first served.

2. Tell me how many bikes you want.

3. Tell me if you’re cool signing a form (finalizing now) about taking care of the bike (lock when you’re not riding, under cover/inside at night, theft while locked - on me, theft because you left it out all night unlocked - on you).

4. Share your ideas on how to make a service like this fun, useful, easy!

Let’s roll, Matt

PS, other fun-buttons for clicking….