Insights and news from the ATOM Mobility team

One of the main advantages of using the ATOM Mobility software for your business are the generous customization options. You can tailor ATOM's robust solution to your brand's needs and requirements, allowing it to express your identity loud and clear. 

But, for mobility services, it's not just about company branding – it's also about adapting to the environment in which your service operates. The appearance, atmosphere, payment types, and incentives offered should be specifically tailored to align with the preferences and demands of the particular market.

Customization is crucial for business success, as it allows you to become recognizable and memorable and win the hearts of locals. So, how can you do that with the ATOM Mobility app? Is branding the only thing you can customize? Read on to find out!

Creating an app that speaks for you

ATOM Mobility makes app customization incredibly simple and efficient via a powerful operator's (that's you!) dashboard. Besides customization and setting configuration, the dashboard allows you to manage your fleet, team, and customer demands all in one place. You can track your vehicles in real-time, check out customer heat maps and analytics, and more.

But when it comes to the customization of your customer or rider app, here's an overview of all the things you can do to create a unique mobility solution.

Branding

Customizing the ATOM Mobility app starts with the obvious – adding your branding via the dashboard. That includes:

• Adding your logo
• Adding your specific color scheme
• Adding your splash screen – the first graphical notification a user receives when opening any app
• Tailoring icons – for example, how the vehicles will appear on the app's map

User tutorials

Adding customized user tutorials to your app will make life notably easier for users and your customer support as well. Users will have basic FAQs covered, and your customer support will have more time to deal with complex issues. 

You can add boiled-down user tutorials on anything, and they'll appear in a special tutorials section on your app. Here's a list of commonly chosen user tutorials to inspire you:

• How to unlock the vehicle and start the ride
• How to end the ride and park the vehicle
• How to know where you can park the vehicle
• How to understand the app's color scheme of the parking zones
• What are the good practices for riding
• What are the main safety rules of the ride
  

Moreover, you can tailor user tutorials by adding images, short videos, and custom descriptions. You can also split each tutorial into several steps to make the information easier to digest. 

Pricing and special offers

The ATOM Mobility customer app offers a wide range of options for user pricing, allowing you to choose the best packages for your clientele. 

With the ATOM Mobility app, you can bill your users in three ways:

• Direct payments via the user's payment card
• Digital wallet-based payments
• A hybrid of the two
  

Regarding the digital wallet, the top-up process is also customizable. You can pick the top-up amounts, set several top-up levels, or add an auto top-up option – i.e., if a user's digital wallet reaches X amount of money, it gets automatically topped up by Y amount. Moreover, you can set a minimum balance requirement for the digital wallet to avoid debtors.

Additionally, there are several options for calculating the ride's fee. You can:

• Set the pricing per minute, hour, or day
• Add a ride unlock fee – a certain amount charged when the user unlocks the vehicle
• Add mileage-based pricing
• Set a price for when the ride is paused, and more
  

What's also convenient – the ATOM Mobility app offers the option to add pre-paid subscription packages. There are daily, weekly, or monthly passes available, and you can assign a wide array of credits and deals to each package. For example, any of the app operator's vehicles available for use within the 30-day pass, ten vehicle unlocks + X ride minutes + Y pause minutes available within the daily pass, and more.

Another option available when customizing your app's pricing is setting discounts for vehicles that haven't been used for a certain number of hours. That way, you can promote a more even use of your vehicles. 

Parking zones

With ATOM Mobility, you can also customize the vehicle parking zones. This allows you to easily divide your city into areas that are yay or nay for vehicle parking – they'll appear green or red on the app.

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Moreover, you can create the so-called bonus zones – if a vehicle is parked there, a user receives an X% discount on their ride. Adding bonus parking zones helps to incentivize vehicle parking in the “hotspots” of the city – beneficial from the business perspective.

Additionally, you can add paid parking zones where parking isn't forbidden, but the users are charged a certain amount if they park there. Again, this allows you to regulate where your vehicles are parked to get that business ball rolling. 

It's also possible to add speed limit zones to your solution to help the users follow the maximum allowed speed in the pedestrian zones. While speed limit compliance should come without saying, we all know that speeding occasionally happens, causing unnecessary traffic accident risks.

Customer support – just the way you want it

Excellent and convenient customer support is the next crucial thing for any well-functioning mobility app. With ATOM Mobility, you can add several customer support options to the app's section: 

• A shortcut to the user tutorials section
• Embedded FAQ section from your business website
• Email communication – pop-up windows shortcutting to email
• Direct calls communication – pop-up windows shortcutting to, e.g., Whatsapp calls, Messenger calls, regular phone calls
• Live chat option with the native Intercom integration

Automated invoices with a twist

A useful feature offered by the ATOM Mobility software is automated invoices. Whenever users finish their ride, they receive an invoice in their inbox, with no manual work from your side. 

What is more, the invoices can be customized as well. You can add your branding – logo, color scheme – and tailor the invoice fields, adding the country's VAT, tax reporting requirements, and more.

Referral programs

It's no secret that referral programs can bring in new customers, increase customer loyalty, improve customer satisfaction, lower customer acquisition costs, and more. ATOM Mobility offers adding a referral program to your unique app so you can nab these and other benefits.

You can set up a promo code that your users can distribute to their friends, who will receive a bonus or a discount for their first ride. The promo code distributors will also receive a bonus in their digital wallet or a discount for their next ride after the newcomer completes their first ride. 

An extra module or two

With ATOM Mobility, you don't have to stick to one type of mobility service. You can – and you should – expand your business to other verticals whenever you see the possibility. 

That's why ATOM Mobility offers the option to place three business modules on your platform – vehicle sharing, ride-hailing, and digital rental. Expand your services, and become the go-to mobility platform of your city in no time.  

Building your mobility business with ATOM Mobility

Now that you know the main customization options that the ATOM Mobility app offers, your next step is to dive into crafting your personalized mobility solution. It won't take you heaps of time – we can launch your personalized software suite in as little as 20 days. Plus, 98% of the app customizations can be done via your app operator dashboard.

Our core, your values, and the best mobility solution for your city is born! 

Drumroll, please!

ATOM Mobility has taken user engagement to the next level with a new loyalty module. 

Users can now take part in exciting challenges and earn rewards upon completion. ATOM Mobility's integration of gamification into its platform aims to enhance the overall user experience – and offers a unique opportunity for operators to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Let's take a closer look at the opportunities and benefits of this new loyalty module.

The benefits of gamification

Gamification is a way of makings apps more fun and engaging by adding game-like elements. The idea is to give users a sense of accomplishment as they progress and complete tasks.

Popular examples of gamification in apps include:

• Duolingo: This language learning app incorporates gamified elements such as levels, achievements, and a point system to make the learning process more enjoyable and engaging.
• Fitbit: The app tracks users' physical activities and fitness goals while employing gamification elements like challenges, badges, and leaderboards to motivate users and create a sense of competition.
• Headspace: This meditation app incorporates gamification through features like streak tracking and milestones, motivating users to establish a consistent meditation practice by providing rewards and a sense of accomplishment as they progress.

These apps offer solid proof that gamification strikes a chord with users. And now ATOM Mobility has taken the lead by introducing gamification to the white-label shared mobility industry for the first time. Why is it a big deal? 

Here are just a few benefits that gamification offers to your shared mobility business:

• Enhanced user engagement: By introducing challenges, rewards, and interactive elements, users are motivated to actively participate in the app's offerings. The element of challenge and the desire to achieve milestones keeps users hooked and encourages them to explore other app features. This translates into increased usage of your app.
• Improved user retention: Challenges, levels, and rewards foster a sense of progression and keep users coming back for more. The element of surprise and the anticipation of unlocking new features or rewards incentivize users to remain loyal to the app over time.
• Data insights: Gamification allows operators to collect valuable data and insights into user behavior. By tracking user engagement, progress, and preferences within the game-like features, operators can get to know their customers better. This information can be used to personalize the user experience, creating challenges and rewards that cater to individual user preferences – thus encouraging even higher levels of engagement.

Drive user engagement with challenges

In order to activate the module, operators can contact their account manager at ATOM Mobility.

Once the loyalty module is enabled, operators gain access to a dashboard where they can create and configure a variety of challenges. Each challenge can be personalized with a title, a specific points-based goal, a duration, and an enticing reward upon completion – such as a discount for the next few rides. 

Operators can spice up the shared mobility platform by crafting multi-level challenges with step numbers. These steps set the sequence in which challenges appear, meaning users have to finish one step before unlocking the next challenge. This way, operators can inject some fun into the shared mobility experience – and keep users on their toes.

Customization and data insights

Operators can customize the loyalty module according to their preferences, for example:

• Choose how many points users get for each ride 
• Adjust the point calculation logic, e.g., you can exclude short rides (under 5 minutes) to prevent users from taking advantage of the system (contact the support team to do it!)
• The length of challenges and whether they have multiple levels

When a user completes a challenge, the system notifies them of their achievement, and the user automatically receives the reward. If a challenge expires without the user earning the required points, the system resets the challenge, and the user can try again.

In the meantime, here's what data is available to operators:

• User participation in specific challenges – see the total number of users who joined a particular challenge, the number of successful completions, and the number of participants still working on it.
• Progress of each participant – this helps operators evaluate the module's effectiveness in engaging users and decide if any adjustments are needed to improve its performance.

Stand out from the competition with ATOM Mobility

The loyalty module presents an opportunity for shared mobility operators to distinguish themselves from industry giants by enhancing the "stickiness" of their solution. By integrating the loyalty module into their platform, operators can offer users incentives to stay connected – fostering a sense of loyalty and long-term engagement. 

Atom Mobility clients are already enjoying the advantages of the new module. As per Milad, the founder of Qick, "The setup process for the Loyalty model is simple and effortless, resulting in heightened customer engagement and increased rides. It serves as an excellent means to involve users in the brand."

The loyalty module introduces another dimension to the highly customizable white-label ATOM Mobility platform – with an added touch of fun.

Shared mobility companies Bird and Micromobility.com (formerly Helbiz) stormed onto the scene by introducing innovative and convenient transportation solutions, capturing the attention of urban dwellers worldwide. 

However, as the micromobility industry enters a more mature phase, companies like Bird and Micromobility.com continue to grapple with obstacles when it comes to attaining financial stability. This has prompted them to reassess their excessively ambitious expansion strategies. 

What factors contribute to these challenges, and what implications does this hold for the industry as a whole? Could local micromobility ventures provide a superior solution to meet the increasing demand for these services? Let's delve further into the financial predicament of Bird and Micromobility.com to gain a better understanding.

Bird: downsizing and struggles in the stock market

Established in 2017, Bird is a micromobility company that provides electric transportation solutions in the USA and Europe. Their range of shared vehicles includes e-scooters and e-bikes. The company also sells vehicles to distributors, retailers, and direct customers. With its headquarters located in Miami, Florida, Bird currently employs 425 individuals and operates in 105 cities. 

Recently, Bird's first-quarter 2023 financials revealed challenges in maintaining ridership and revenue. Despite implementing cost-cutting measures, the company's performance failed to convince investors of its ability to achieve profitability – the company's stock plummeted nearly 19% after announcing its first-quarter earnings.

In 2022, Bird faced a challenging year. The company announced plans to completely exit Germany, Sweden, and Norway, as well as wind down operations in numerous other markets, primarily small to mid-sized, across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. They also reduced their staff by 23%.

Despite a positive revenue increase of 12.06% in 2022, the company faced substantial losses totaling $358.74 million, marking a significant 66.9% increase compared to 2021. The challenges continued in 2023 as Bird witnessed a decline in rides and deployed vehicles. With a net loss of $44.3 million recorded at the end of Q1 2023, it’s likely that the company will continue to downsize its operations.

Micromobility.com: similar woes despite the acquisition of Wheels and rebranding

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in New York, Micromobility.com delivers micromobility services in Italy, the United States, and Singapore (43 cities in total), which include e-scooters, e-bicycles, and e-mopeds. It also operates Helbiz Kitchen, a delivery-only ghost kitchen restaurant, and the Helbiz Live streaming platform. The company currently employs 284 people. 

In 2023, the company, formerly known as Helbiz, underwent a rebranding and transformed into Micromobility.com Inc. This rebranding coincided with the plans to launch retail stores across the United States.

In 2022, Micromobility.com successfully completed its acquisition of Wheels, a shared micromobility operator, along with promises to its investors that the merger would lead to a doubling of annual revenue and facilitate the path to profitability. The company set its sights on capitalizing on Wheels' extensive user base of 5 million riders and venturing into untapped markets.

Despite these hopes, Micromobility.com experienced less than stellar financial results in 2022. The company achieved a revenue of $15.54 million, indicating a 21.07% growth compared to the previous year's $12.83 million. However, the company also incurred losses amounting to -$82.07 million, reflecting a 13.3% increase compared to 2021.

In 2023, Micromobility.com announced a reverse stock split to meet Nasdaq Capital Market's minimum bid price requirement and make their common stock more attractive to investors. This move didn't come as a surprise, considering that the company received a delisting warning from Nasdaq in 2022. Coupled with its enduring track record of operating losses and negative cash flows over time, the overall outlook of the company's financial performance is rather discouraging.

Why are Bird and Micromobility.com facing financial difficulties and exiting markets?

The difficulties faced by Bird and Micromobility.com can be partly explained by their venture capital-backed business model. They witnessed swift expansion while hemorrhaging substantial amounts of money. And the more they expanded, the more money they bled. Now, it’s unsurprising to witness their heavily subsidized business models shifting their priorities from aggressive growth to mitigating losses and striving for profitability.

In recent years, there has been a surge in the popularity of shared mobility special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC). These companies are created solely for the purpose of raising capital through an initial public offering and have no commercial operations of their own. The ultimate goal of a SPAC is to acquire or merge with an existing company.

Financial struggles have become a common theme among shared mobility SPACs This can be attributed to the rush of companies going public without first establishing a sustainable business model – and Bird and Micromobility.com are no exception to this trend. The challenges faced by these companies emphasize the significance of building a strong and viable foundation prior to entering the public market.

The relentless pursuit of expansion has proven to be an ineffective strategy. For instance, some experts suggest that Bird's decision to outsource its operations to franchises made it harder to persuade cities and secure contracts. Their emphasis on breadth rather than depth resulted in a lack of understanding regarding local communities and the nuances of local legislation. As a result, major players like Bird and Micromobility.com have been withdrawing their fleets from “less profitable” cities.

The soaring shared micromobility market: a golden opportunity for local entrepreneurs

According to a McKinsey study, the shared micromobility market has the potential to reach a staggering $50 billion to $90 billion by 2030, with an estimated annual growth rate of approximately 40% between 2019 and 2030. By 2030, shared micromobility could constitute around 10% of the overall shared mobility market. 

In this context, the recent financial challenges faced by Bird and Micromobility.com should not be seen as indicative of a bleak future for the entire industry. Instead, these setbacks highlight the inherent unsustainability of aggressive and expansive business models within the shared micromobility landscape. 

Local operators with smaller ground teams enjoy a notable edge over companies like Bird and Micromobility.com. By focusing on underserved markets and having an intimate understanding of their communities, these operators can deliver superior service while maintaining lower costs and stable profit margins. 

Returning to Bird's Q1 2023 financial report, they also reported 0.9 rides per deployed vehicle per day. Now, let's compare this figure to other operators. We conducted a survey involving two EU-based operators that make use of Atom Mobility: 

• Operator 1: With a fleet of 4,000+ vehicles across over 10 cities, they recorded an average ride per vehicle of 0.9 in Q1 2023
• Operator 2: Operating in a single city with a fleet of 200 vehicles, they achieved an average ride per vehicle of 2.7 in Q1 2023

As fleet sizes increase, the average ride per vehicle tends to decrease, as seen with Operator 1 and Bird. However, the figure from Operator 2 highlights the potential for local operators to thrive in underserved cities that larger shared mobility companies may neglect.

We have seen examples of this – Go Green City, a Swiss electric moped-sharing company, presently provides its services in Zurich and Basel. Their small, tightly-knit team prioritizes local knowledge, enabling them to operate with enhanced flexibility and agility – a level of service that larger companies like Bird or Micromobility.com will find challenging to match. Overall, more than 100 projects have successfully launched their shared mobility ventures with Atom Mobility's assistance, operating in over 140 cities across the globe.

As the desire for shared micromobility services grows – with a focus on community safety and the ethical integration of these modes of transportation into the overall urban transit system – it seems that local operators have a distinct edge over large multinationals.

Back in 2010, a company named Uber made waves in San Francisco by changing the way people hailed cabs. Today, the company has expanded rapidly across the globe. Over the years, Uber's valuation has skyrocketed, and it has evolved from a ride-sharing service to a massive enterprise that competes in the food delivery and car rental markets.

The evolution of Uber from a small startup to a giant is a remarkable story of visionary business practices that revolutionized an entire industry. Let's take a closer look at how Uber achieved its success.

What if you could hire a ride with just your phone?

Garret Camp, one of Uber's co-founders, had a firsthand experience of the issues with conventional taxi services in San Francisco, where he often struggled to find a reliable ride.

For decades, San Francisco had a limited number of taxi licenses. Demand for taxis exceeded the supply, resulting in poor service and long waits. Despite this, the taxi drivers and fleets in San Francisco vehemently opposed any attempts to increase the number of permits, as they were determined to keep competition at a minimum.

Camp came up with the idea of creating an on-demand car service that passengers could track via their phones. Considering San Francisco's notoriously unreliable taxi services, Camp's idea made perfect sense as it provided a solution to increase the number of available rides and inform customers of the expected wait time.

Camp saw the new iPhone app store as a way to make it a reality. With the phone's accelerometer, he could charge passengers by the minute or the mile, similar to a taximeter. Collaborating with fellow entrepreneur Travis Kalanick, they cemented an innovative notion: What if clients could effortlessly summon a ride by means of their smartphones?

Uber officially launched in San Francisco in 2010. The app was an instant hit due to its ease of use: customers could order a ride, pinpoint their location with GPS, and have the fare automatically charged to their account.

The rise of the world's most valuable startup: key milestones

Uber's valuation skyrocketed to $51 billion after funding rounds in 2015, making it the world's most valuable startup at that time. Below are some other significant milestones in the company's history:

• 2010: Uber received its first major funding of $1.3 million
• 2011: Uber launched in New York and France. The company also closed another funding round that year, which valued the company at $60 million.
• 2012: Uber expanded to 20 locations worldwide.
• 2013: Uber continued to grow rapidly, expanding to more than 40 new locations around the world.
• 2015: The company secured additional funding from investors, such as Microsoft and Bennett Coleman & Co, which boosted its valuation beyond $51 billion.
• 2016: The company raised an additional $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to further fuel its expansion.
• 2019: Uber went public through an initial public offering (IPO) with a market value of $75.46 billion, making it one of the biggest IPOs in history. The company raised an additional $8.1 billion through the IPO.

Uber's strategic approach to expanding globally and constantly improving user experiences offers valuable lessons for any tech-driven business. To understand more about the software that powers such services, learn more about our ride-hailing solutions.

What contributed to Uber's success?

Although Uber's success can be attributed in part to its founder's innovative idea, there are other important factors that have played a role in the company's accomplishments. Without proper strategy and execution, the company wouldn't have achieved such heights.

• Light asset base

Uber owes much of its rapid growth to its asset-light business model, which allowed it to expand into numerous markets with ease. Although sales teams and translation work were necessary to enter new markets, the software – their app – was the main asset they offered. With drivers bringing their own vehicles and riders using their own smartphones, Uber didn't have to make significant capital investments to operate in these markets.

Moreover, Uber's technology platform is estimated to have cost less than $2 million to develop, a relatively small investment compared to the company's current valuation. By focusing on building a simple and user-friendly app, Uber was able to create a scalable platform that could efficiently serve the needs of riders and drivers alike.

For ATOM Mobility clients, the app is already there – and it's highly customizable to make sure it fits your business and target market. So, you won't need to invest months and millions of dollars to make your own from scrat

• Emphasis on customer acquisition

Uber's revenue model seems to be based on customer habits rather than brand loyalty. While it's true that many people use Uber regularly, the company's marketing tools rely more on discounts and surge pricing than on building a traditional brand image.

Uber's use of surge pricing is a good example. By adjusting prices during periods of high demand, the company can maximize its margins while still undercutting its rivals when demand is low.

Despite the absence of a traditional brand loyalty program, Uber has managed to establish a foothold in many markets around the world. Its simple and efficient app, combined with its competitive prices and constant promotions, has helped it become a go-to choice for many consumers.

As an ATOM Mobility user, you can, too, adjust your pricing and/or offer discounts to your end users. Thanks to the built-in functionalities, it can be done in a matter of seconds.

• Solving a real-world problem

Uber's success can be credited to its ability to solve a genuine issue that existed in the transportation industry. In the past, finding a taxi in some areas was a daunting task, and conventional taxi services were frequently unreliable and inconvenient.

One of Uber's co-founders, Garret Camp, was intimately familiar with these difficulties because of his experience with San Francisco's transportation system. Consequently, he knew exactly what he wanted as a customer – a dependable way to hire a ride anytime and anywhere in the city without the hassle of cash and making calls. Uber's rapid growth can be attributed to the fact that it provided a solution to a real-world problem for a large number of its customers.

Now, ask yourself – what's the one thing that annoys you the most when it comes to transportation system in your neighborhood, city, or country? If it's a problem for you, it might be a problem for others as well. And perhaps, it can be solved with a shared mobility solution.

• Constant innovation: additional transportation services

Uber didn't rest on its laurels after the success of its ride-sharing service. At an early stage, the company recognized the potential to provide additional transportation-related services. In fact, Uber's food delivery business is the company's biggest source of revenue, while the rides business generates the most profit.

The company has explored other business areas, such as:

• Uber Eats became a standalone app in 2016, offering food delivery from restaurants to users' doorsteps. It has since expanded to over 6,000 cities in 45 countries.
• Uber Rent, launched in 2017, allows users to rent vehicles and electric bikes/scooters directly from the main app.
• Uber Freight's digital marketplace connects shippers with carriers, allowing them to find and book loads with real-time tracking of shipments.

Uber’s success is largely due to its innovative use of technology to reshape urban mobility. For those interested in the technical side of ride-hailing services, you can learn more about how state-of-the-art software is crucial to these operations.

Lesson learned? Even if you've already built a successful venture, keep looking for new business opportunities. Have a scooter-sharing business? Maybe you can add other vehicles to your offering or launch a ride-hailing solution in partnership with your local taxi drivers, just like Uber. You got the idea.

Uber's turbulent journey to the top

Uber's journey has been far from smooth sailing. The company has faced numerous controversies, both internally and with authorities in different countries. Maintaining team morale and momentum whilst attempting to take on an entrenched industry is no easy feat, as Uber's experience has demonstrated.

Nevertheless, at its core, Uber's story is an inspirational one. The company's impact has been significant and transformative, and it serves as an iconic story of pioneering attitude and determination for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to solve transportation problems. As co-founder Kalanick succinctly said, "I want to push a button and get a ride." And that's precisely the service they created.

And that’s precisely a service you can offer to your local community with ATOM Mobility’s software.

P.S. For more inspiration, take a look at Uber's very first presentation - https://www.slideshare.net/kambosu/uber-pitch-deck