Urban and shared mobility took center stage as we kicked off our fall networking happy hour in Portland. We were joined by Dan Jarman who represents Skip. Dan discussed Skip Scooters’ pilot program in Portland, which started in late July. We were also joined by Jon Isaacs, Public Affairs Manager at Uber. Jon shared the current strategies and challenges of the Uber’s EV Champions Initiative. Uber’s EV pilot program launched at Roadmap 11 in late June.

Uber has a vision to facilitate reliable transportation for everyone. One important part of realizing that vision is to increase electrical vehicle adoption. Uber is electrifying their network and Portland is one of 13 cities worldwide where Uber has active EV Pilots & Demonstrations. In Portland, Uber is currently working with EV driver-partners to provide them with education and resources to grow EV awareness and adoption throughout the city. In October, PGE and Uber will begin offering free charging to Uber EV driver-partners at Electric Avenue.

You can view Jon’s presentation here:

When Skip Scooters launched their pilot program in Portland this summer their mission was to address three things. First, provide affordable transportation to everyone. One way they aim to achieve this is through the Rider Accessibility Program. Second, create better first- and last-mile electric transportation options, and third, improve transportation infrastructure. Skip has worked with policy makers since 2017 when they launched in Washington D.C. They work with the public and private sector and share data with transportation departments to better inform the city on infrastructure needs. In Portland, Skip has worked with organizations like The Street Trust and Venture Portland. Working with community-based organizations is one way to make connections within the community they serve and gain a better understanding of the communal needs.