Australia Micromobility Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

Australia Micromobility Market Data

Australia Micromobility Market Trends & Drivers

Battery Swapping Technology Is Key Market Trend

• The introduction of swappable batteries has increased the fleet uptime significantly, while curtailing the operational costs, which has ultimately taken the micromobility industry toward profitability.
• Moreover, with swappable batteries, scooter unit economies can be ameliorated, as they not only reduce a substantial part of the charging costs but also improve the vehicle availability.
• Battery swapping can be accomplished in two ways:
  • the rider replaces the discharged battery with a charged one at a dedicated swapping center
  • a micromobility company employee or freelancer goes around the city and swaps discharged batteries with charged ones.

Thus, the advent of the battery swapping technology is a key trend witnessed in the micromobility market.

Low Price and Convenience of Services

• The growth of the micromobility ecosystem has been exponential due to the high availability, low pricing, and ease of access of such services. The prospect of a faster return on investment and lower operational cost has encouraged many startups and major mobility firms to enter the market. People use public transport, including trains, trams, and buses, for about 10% of their journeys. Commuters are now shifting to bikes and e-bikes due to their large-scale environmental and health advantages.
• The most-lucrative criterion for selecting a service for a consumer is cost. Micromobility is a low-cost travel option, which is why it attracts a huge customer base. For instance, Airbike charges bike users USD 1.3 for every 30 minutes, while CityCycle allows commuters to ride its bikes for the first 30 minutes for free and then charges USD 2.0 for the next 30 minutes and USD 5.0 for every 30 minutes thereafter. Further, Neuron Mobility Pte. Ltd. charges e-scooter users a USD 0.6 fixed fee and USD 0.29 per minute, while Urbi charges bike users USD 3.0 for a 45-minute ride and USD 6.0 per hour thereafter. Thus, the economical nature of these services leads to their substantial use and has a positive influence on the Australian micromobility market growth.

Fleet Management Challenges and Limitations Restrain Market Growth

• Micromobility market players deployed numerous bicycles in the major cities in the initial phase during 2014–2016, to facilitate service and augment the availability of bicycles. At the inception of this business concept, subsidized pricing was offered by companies to attract consumers. But, the players were negatively affected by the limited policy framework in support of these services. Moreover, the per-day growth in micromobility ride bookings in 2022 led companies to diversify their business by expanding their fleet and increasing the access to the services.
• Resultingly, Australian cities have witnessed the proliferation of dockless vehicles at various places where they do not belong; some of them are even damaged beyond repair, thus creating an overall blockade on roads/paths/tracks. The process of charging, retrieving, and maintaining these vehicles is costly and labor-intensive. Further, vandalism, thefts, and injuries are omnipresent issues with micromobility, which, in turn, hinder the market growth.

Consumer Attributes

• Australia is among the leading countries in terms of the adoption of disruptive technologies. The country has been aggressively exploring multimodal transport solutions to fulfil the rising transportation demands, owing to the growing population. The young population in the country prefers on-demand mobility service over car ownership, which acts as a catalyst for the growth of the micromobility market in Australia. The use of such services in Australia is because of the large population of youths and their willingness to pay. Young people who are employed full time are most likely to use micromobility services.

Australia Micromobility Industry Outlook

Vehicle Type Insights

• The e-scooters category held the largest market share, of around 30%, in 2023. The popularity of e-scooters for short distances and recreational purposes has boosted the revenue in this category dramatically. Furthermore, they are economical and accessible, as well as environment-friendly because they do not require gasoline or other petroleum-based fuels. These automobiles are designed to fit in a small space and snake through dense traffic easily. During the forecast period, the increasing number of trips per vehicle and supportive regulations are expected to help the category's growth.

During the study, we analyzed the following vehicle types in the report:

• E-Scooters (Largest Category)
• E-Bikes
• E-Mopeds
• E-Pods
• Bikes
• Scooters (Fastest-Growing Category)

Model Analysis

• The first- and last-mile bifurcation held the larger market share, of around 70%, in 2023. It is also predicted to witness substantial growth during the forecast period owing to the rising demand for first- and last-mile transportation. People find it challenging to travel to and from the primary, often public, means of transportation in all major cities.
• While city officials place a high priority on enhancing public transportation and boosting its use, traveling the first and final miles to reach a public transit stop or from there to the home, office, or college appears to be a major obstacle for individuals. Micromobility solves this problem, and thus, this category dominates the market.

Below are the models analyzed in the report for Australia micromobility market:

• First- and Last-Mile (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)
• Multimodal

Sharing System Insights

• The dockless bifurcation dominated the Australian micromobility market in 2023, and it will further grow significantly, with a CAGR of 89.7%, in the forecast period. It will majorly be due to a rise in the number of businesses choosing the dockless bike sharing concept over the station-based (docked) system because the former requires less capital and has lower operating costs. Consumers also prefer dockless sharing because of its cost-effectiveness and convenient features, such as parking flexibility. Furthermore, in the coming years, the growing demand for e-scooter sharing services will encourage the deployment of more dockless systems in the country.

The sharing systems covered in the report are:

• Docked
• Dockless (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)

Australia Micromobility Market Share

The market has a high degree of fragmentation with the presence of many players. Players in the market have been involved in business and operational expansions. For instance, Beam Mobility Holdings Pte. Ltd. has established its operations in several countries, such as Australia (Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, and Townsville), South Korea (Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi-do, and Daegu), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington), and Singapore.

Similarly, Neuron Mobility Pte. Ltd. has expanded its fleet of 600 patented N3 e-scooters in Brisbane, Australia. This service expansion was part of the Brisbane Clean, Green, Sustainable 2017–2031 initiative, the city’s efforts to strengthen its sustainable practices.

Australian Micromobility Industry News

• Neuron Mobility Pte. Ltd. has raised USD 12.0 million in its series A funding round from Square Peg Capital Pty. Ltd. and GSR Ventures, to expand its operations in Australia and New Zealand. The company was also planning to hire 400 people in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
• Beam Mobility Holdings Pte. Ltd. has raised USD 26.0 million in a new financing round from Sequoia India and Hana Ventures, in order to diversify its services in several Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries, such as South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. The company had already raised USD 32.4 million till June 2020.
• Flamingo Technologies Limited has expanded its operation in Wellington city, New Zealand, with a fleet of 400 e-scooters. The services were launched as a part of a trial program initiated by the authorities of Wellington. As per the program, the company operates its services around the central city and suburbs across Wellington. This trial was to help government authorities and the company determine the city’s policy of micromobility transport, including e-scooter and bike share schemes.
• Brisbane City Council has announced that CityCycle is being phased out of Brisbane to make way for e-bikes from February to the end of 2021. The company's 150 inner-city docking stations are expected to be converted to e-mobility hubs to house 2,000 e-bikes in different areas, such as South Brisbane, Brisbane CBD, and Fortitude Valley.