COVID-19 & The E-mobility Boom! Onewheel, EUC, E-Scooter

As the pandemic reshapes our world, personal electric mobility devices like Onewheels, EUCs, and e-scooters are surging. Driven by social distancing, outdoor cravings, and a desire to avoid public transit, people are embracing these fun, practical rides. Even skeptics—like my wife—are joining in, thanks to accessible options like electric scooters. Our transport habits may never be the same.

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There’s something infectious spreading around the country and even in my own home. While my wife doesn’t like it, that’s because she hasn’t caught it yet, but I hope she does and I’m doing what I can to make it happen! I’m talking about the surge, not of COVID-19 cases but the surge of people purchasing personal electric mobility devices like the Onewheel, EUC, and electric scooters. While many industries are seriously hurting right now, there have been a few sectors that are benefitting from this pandemic. You expect ecommerce industries like Amazon, streaming services like Netflix, and video conferencing companies like Zoom to be booming right now. I read an article the other day entitled, “Bicycles are the new toilet paper” basically talking about how with the lockdown, bicycle sales have boomed as people look for a fun way to get around while staying physically distanced. Just like bicycles– Onewheels, EUCs, and electric scooters seem to also be booming. But UNLIKE toilet paper, there’s a good reason for this boom of personal electric vehicles. I don’t have any scientific data other than the number of email inquiries and direct messages I’m getting from people thinking about buying Onewheels and EUCs. You would think Christmas is right around the corner with all the people interested in getting one of these devices. In fact, I’m getting more emails and direct messages during this pandemic than ever before from people thanking me for my videos which have helped them with their decision to buy a Onewheel or EUC! I’m sorry if I have not responded to your messages. I’ve been busy making videos and blog posts. Consider this my response to your message. Thanks for your support. I’m glad my videos could help you out. That’s why I make them, because I like to help people. And congrats on your new device, I hope you love it. Be safe. So why is everyone so excited to buy personal electric mobility devices like EUCs, Onewheels, and e-scooters all of a sudden? It’s the perfect storm of needing to stay physically distanced, the lack of anything to do, more free time, and a growing phobia of public transportation. For many people, the weather is getting better as Spring moves in and they want a reason to go outside and explore while still maintaining physical distancing. For others, they have been wanting an excuse to get a Onewheel or EUC or electric scooter and this pandemic has pushed them over the edge. Some people, especially those who live in big cities, just want to avoid using public transportation. The thought of sharing a tight space with many other people right now, potentially breathing recycled air, is far from appealing. NYC was the hardest hit area in the US and I have to believe it was partly because of the densely packed population and public transportation. So I boil the current boom for personal electric rideable devices down to this. There are two groups of people looking to buy personal electric mobility devices:

1. Those looking for something fun to do.
2. Those looking for an alternative to public transportation.

While looking to get an electric scooter for my wife I found out that the month of April has been amazing for EUCs and e-scooter sales. The folks at ewheels helped me pick out some e-scooters for my wife and here she is, finally riding with me. If you’ve followed me for awhile, you’ll know that I’ve tried to teach my wife how to ride the Onewheel, but she has zero interest.

The scooter is way less intimidating than the Onewheel or EUC, is super simple to use, is just as portable as the Onewheel, has a cruising speed faster than the Onewheel XR, a range farther than the Onewheel XR, and costs less than the Pint. But the most important thing, my wife will ride it. I hope this gets my wife into the hobby of e-rideables and even if she doesn’t become obsessive about it like me, at least she’ll be able to join us on some of our rides now. These electric scooters are a lot easier to throw into the back of a car for trips compared to a bicycle and they are surprisingly powerful. Like I said, eWheels is fantastic. It’s my go to place to buy my electric unicycles and now electric scooters. Electric devices are complex and they can break down. With eWheels, I’ve always been able to have my issues taken care of quickly and easily. I wrote a complete review about my experiences and thoughts about eWheels that you can read here. If you are considering buying an EUC or e-scooter, make sure to check them out. While I have been critical of electric rental scooter companies like Bird and Lime, whose aggressive tactics have led to cities banning electric rideable devices one benefit that has come out of the rental electric scooter fiasco is the introduction of the electric scooter to many people, showing them just how practical they can be as a last mile solution. But even after those public rental scooters go back online after this lockdown passes, I for one will pass on using them unless they come with lysol wipes. Given how the company Bird, a pioneer in the rental scooter business seems to be crumbling from a combination of bad business practices and compounded by the strain of this pandemic, the rental electric scooter company as we knew it will never be the same and thank goodness. Even when restrictions start lifting, people are still going to be wary about things like gathering with a bunch of strangers in tight spaces and public transportation. Our world is forever changed by recent events. I see a new world where hand shaking has been replaced with less germ spreading forms of greetings like the fist bump or the bow. I see more people finding ways to learn and work from home. And I see traditional public transportation being partially replaced by folks owning and riding personal electric vehicles like electric scooters, Onewheels, and electric unicycles. My world has also changed during this pandemic in that I was able to get my wife to finally ride. Let’s hope we can keep this up. As for those rental scooters? I’m not interested. You won’t find me using a rental electric scooter any time soon, especially if I don’t have any lysol wipes with me. Am I being a little obsessive compulsive, yes. Does this give me more reason to buy my own high performance electric scooter or some other electric mobility device? Double yes.