South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Electric mopeds zoom into Miami
Here’s what you need to know about renting one
Meeting buddies for a bite in a Miami neighborhood such as Brickell or Wynwood? Tap an app on your mobile phone to rent a Revel moped for your travels around Miami. You can even bring a friend.
Electric scooters came speeding to Fort Lauderdale in 2018 and have become commonplace. The latest ride trend is the Revel electric moped, which look like a small motorcycle.
Revel moped rentals is expanding short-distance commuting options beyond e-scooters, e-bicycles and rideshare companies Uber and Lyft. In Miami, Revel has 750 mopeds for rent, and a team of 30 employees to service the mopeds and customers.
“Miami is such a perfect city for product like Revel’s. The people of Miami already use mopeds so they’re very familiar,” Jonas Mikolich, general manager of Revel for Miami, adding that there are many moped owners in the city.
Here’s what you need to know about renting and riding a Revel moped:
Those interested in renting a Revel moped can download the app at gorevel.com/ miami. Either online or on the app, renters will find Miami locations where they can pick up the moped or park it. The moped can be locked and paused anywhere, such as to grab a cup of coffee, but must be returned to a designated Revel parking area by midnight.
A valid driver’s license is required for either a scooter or moped in South Florida. Moped renters must submit a driver’s license and “selfie” photo to confirm their identity. Renters are subject to a driver’s history check for safe driving, before being cleared to rent a Revel.
Moped rental costs $1 per person to unlock and 29 cents per minute to ride. There is a one-time sign-up fee of $5. A 4-mile ride between the Brickell and Wywood neighborhoods, for example, might take eight to 16 minutes, depending on traffic and driving about 30 mph. So it
would cost under $5.
For renters on public assistance such as the federal nutritional program SNAP, Revel provides a 40 percent discount on rides and a $10 ride credit through its “Revel Access” program.
Revel mopeds are limited to local streets. They must be parked curbside like a car or motorcycle.
Revel moped rental rides must start and end within Revel’s Miami service area. That includes Miami area neighborhoods including Allapattah, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Coral Way, Downtown Miami, Edgewater, Little Haiti, Little Havana, Liberty City, Model City, Overtown and Wynwood.
Riders must wear helmets, which are provided, and cannot drive the mopeds on highways or bridges. While the driver must be 21 years old, a second rider can be on the moped, as long as he or she is 18 years or older.
O ffering competition: Revel’s debut could result in new competition for South Florida’s electric-scooter companies including Lime. Bird and Bolt. Such scooters have drawn concern of safety and traffic congestion issues.
How are mopeds different than scooters? They can seat two people and they go up to 30 mph.
On a scooter, a rider stands up during the ride and can’t go as fast. Rental prices for mopeds and scooters are similar, but moped drivers must be at least 21 years old. The average moped trip is more than three miles, typically farther than on a scooter, Revel says.
Lime, which rents electric scooters in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, says it welcomes the moped rentals.
“Mopeds complement scooters, offering an option for longer trips, while also encouraging Miami residents to get out of their cars and reduce their impact on the environment,” said Uhriel Bedoya, Lime’s general manager for Florida.
Uber and Lyft are typically used for longer rides, often at night and on weekends. Scooters can only be used during the daytime, while Revel mopeds can only be rented until midnight.
“We don’t see [Revel] as competition,” said Javier Correoso, spokesman for Uber Technologies in Florida, about Revel’s Miami launch. Uber is adding new options to its app for rental, such as its Jump scooters, he said.
In London, Uber app users can get prices and information for ride-share and public transit. In Paris, Uber has partnered with moped operator Cityscoot.
“We want to be an app that gets people from Point A to Point B, using the option that works best for
them,” Correoso said.
More moped businesses: Of course, there are other ways to rent mopeds in South Florida.
Armando Pena, manager at Wynwood Scooter Rental, has been renting mopeds for a couple years. But business at the shop has been a “little quieter” since the big Revel launch, he said.
Pena warns consumers to check prices, as his and other shops don’t typically charge mileage like Revel does. A three-hour moped rental at Wynwood costs a flat $30 plus tax, he said, for example.
But Revel does have some advantages over local shops: the convenience of renting mopeds through its mobile app, as well as parking availability at Miami Parking Authority parking lots. That’s part of the company’s agreement with the city, Mikolich said.
Safety can be an issue with riding a moped or scooter, both for riders and nearby pedestrians, as some accidents in South Florida and around the country have shown.
While training is not mandated, free moped driving lessons are offered seven days a week by Revel at its Miami warehouse, 900 NW 22nd St. Revel carries thirdparty liability insurance in the case a moped driver accidentally hits a person or car, for example.
Revel began renting the mopeds, made by Chinabased NIU Technologies, in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, soon adding Washington D.C.; Austin, Texas; and Oakland, California.
Revel was founded by Paul Suhey and Frank Reig, investors who noticed all the mopeds on the streets during a visit to Argentina, according to Mikolich. Revel recently raised $27.6 million, which is fueling the company’s expansion, he said.