Interview

Roger Dørum Pettersen on the “Taxi Tragedy”: Why Regulations Often Fail

By Lars Christian Grødem-Olsen, MD Movability

Roger Dørum Pettersen is known for helping Bolt and Uber enter Norway, as well as for establishing Norgestaxi, which has become one of Norway’s largest taxi dispatch services. In this interview, he offers a candid perspective on how regulations and short-sighted profit motives have created what he calls a “tragedy of the commons” in the taxi industry resulting in higher prices and no improvements in sight.

Read the interview

Roger describes how confusing fare structures, limited license access, and political fear of upsetting taxi owners keep prices high and competition low. He also explains why the market might need either full deregulation or a stricter public-transport-style framework to avoid collapsing under its own dysfunction.

Click here to read the full interview.

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Mobility Research

Why Transit Officials Want to Make E-Scooter Rides Cheaper

Many transit officials are exploring the idea of using taxpayer funds to subsidize e-scooter rides. But why should the general public get behind lowering the cost of e-scooters?

1. Relieves Peak-Hour Congestion

   During rush hour, nobody wants to be stuck on an overcrowded bus. Transit agencies also struggle to staff for peak demand. Encouraging commuters to use e-scooters can ease the load on public transport and improve everyone’s travel experience.

2. Boosts Transit App Engagement

   Most riders only open a transit app a few times a month. By integrating e-scooters into these apps, agencies increase engagement significantly. We’ve seen this data first-hand of the increase of app engagement from integrating operators in our projects, and it’s impressive.

3. Challenges Car Ownership

   In congested urban areas, the better (and cheaper) the combined mobility options are, the more drivers will consider leaving their cars at home. Discounted or subsidized e-scooters, in conjunction with buses and trains, can beat cars on convenience and cost—especially when you factor in how many people calculate car costs on a purely “per trip” basis.

A recent U.S. study titled “Evaluating Shared E-Scooters’ Potential to Enhance Public Transit and Reduce Driving” supports this perspective. Among its findings, 40% of e-scooter users consider them a last-mile option. The same study’s Stated Choice Experiment indicates that when the e-scooter segment is discounted, the combined service (transit + e-scooter) is much more competitive.

At Movability, we refer to this integrated approach as Public Mobility, which goes beyond buses and trains to include shared e-scooters, bikes, short-distance carpooling, and car-sharing. Taken together, these modes can address a wide range of travel needs in cities and help people rely on cars far less than before.

News

Stories we loved this month

Swapfiets is profitable

Prabin Joel Jones at micromobility.io recently shared solid insights into the financials of Swapfiets, the Dutch bike-subscription service.

It’s impressive to see Swapfiets revenue growth. However, they’re still not profitable. This boils down to high operating costs, which, while diminishing relative to revenue, remain a significant factor.

Earlier, we discussed the economics of bike subscriptions, and in a recent conversation with a top-tier car subscription provider, I learned a familiar story: most customers want “traditional” subscription services, such as home delivery, repairs at your door, and easy returns. They’re not willing to pay the price needed for them to cover costs.

This has led the car subscription industry to pivot toward a “leasing plus” model, where customers commit to keeping a vehicle for 18–24 months and handle their own repairs. In exchange, they receive insurance (bundled at a discounted rate) and a lower monthly cost.

Looking at Swapfiets’s current offerings, with home delivery, flexible cancellation, and service - you can see clear parallels. Judging from trends in the car sub market as well as looking at the cost drivers, I believe these options will disappear for micromobility subscription companies too.

Although a bicycle or an escooter is easier and thus less costly to transport than a car, people aren’t willing to pay that much for getting out of the hassle of fixing it or having the privilege of cancelling a subscription at any given month.

If I’m right, this means that mobility is actually different from Software-as-a-Service, and we need to switch the narrative. The two business models are fundamentally different and need to be treated that way.

Bolt buys Viggo, a danish ride-hail with only electric cars

In other news, Bolt has acquired Viggo, a Danish ride-hailing service specializing in electric vehicles.

Bolt needed an entry to the Danish market, due to strict regulations on ride-hail. Uber had to re-enter the market through a partnership with DRIVR for these reasons. Viggo, on the other hand, tried to compete with Uber and Bolt in other markets, but understood that this was difficult. One example of this was Norway, where they had to exit the market after a tumultuous start. Due to strict regulations, Denmark became Viggo’s foothold. Due to competition, my assumption is that there was little incentive for them to expand elsewhere.

Viggo has as a result pivoted to a completely different business model - B2B charge point operations for taxis and logistics. They’ve rebranded to Stella to differentiate from their previous business model. Charging to taxis and logistics is on the rise and another charge point operator I spoke to last week confirmed that centralized locations do VERY well in terms of utilization, both due to taxis, logistics and higher population density. So the locations Stella (former Viggo) have, are likely very attractive compared to rural highway charge point locations.

If they can provide a tailor-made B2B solution for these fleets, Stella will be an exciting company to watch over the next few years

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