A big thank you to Harry 👏

This edition marks a milestone for Fluctuo — a new face behind the newsletter.

Harry Maxwell built this weekly recap from the ground up and kept it running with consistency and sharp insight. He's now off to new professional adventures, and we wish him all the best. 🚀

I'm Alex Gauquelin, and I'm excited to take it from here. Thanks for reading!

TOP STORIES 🔥

⚡️ Aiming for Olympus: ZEUS’ Expansion Bet

Following last week's news that ZEUS Mobility has acquired Superpedestrian Europe, we reached out to ZEUS CEO Damian Young to better understand the reasons behind the deal and its content.

Fluctuo: Damian, can you first tell us what your primary ambition is with this acquisition?

Damian Young: The ambition is to support the growth of our business, but most of all to achieve economies of scale that were more difficult to reach with ZEUS alone. Our ambition is also to leverage Superpedestrian’s competitive advantages, improve safety standards, generate operational advantages, and become a profitable, leading company in Europe.

F: Does this acquisition only include the assets of Superpedestrian Europe, or does it also include SURF Beyond’s assets in the Nordics? What about the brands that were under the SURF umbrella?

DY: The acquisition includes only the European subsidiaries, business, markets, assets, and platform of Superpedestrian, while SURF Beyond retains its business outside of this. We have acquired the brands LINK and Wind, but at this stage, our focus is on rebuilding markets and securing deployments. We will continue to use the existing brands of Superpedestrian, LINK, and ZEUS for the medium term, with plans to review the overall brand strategy by 2027.

F: The acquisition includes licenses awarded to Superpedestrian, LINK, and Wind. Will you continue operations in all the cities, or strategically focus on certain cities and regions?

DY: We will selectively use the licenses that are still available. Much of the focus will remain on ZEUS and Superpedestrian’s existing German markets, and we will assess the viability of other markets such as Spain, Greece, Portugal, the UK, etc., in due course.

F: Are you acquiring Superpedestrian’s scooter fleets? How will you integrate and build on Superpedestrian's technological advantages in both hardware and IT?

DY: Yes, the acquisition includes all fleets and spare parts. The Superpedestrian scooter is unique and designed with high-spec sensory functionality that supports data insights, safety, and operations support. We intend to leverage this, as we believe it was underutilized in the past. Our own scooters will also remain in certain markets.

We plan to utilize the Superpedestrian tech platform in due course and have significant plans to develop customer-centric AI, safety functionality, communication platforms, and data/machine learning to support operations and customers. At this point, the work to develop this is just beginning, and we expect to announce new developments over the next few months.

F: How will the Superpedestrian staff be integrated within the ZEUS team?

DY: I cannot answer yet as we are just beginning our structural reform. However, we anticipate that staff integration or new partnerships will occur over the coming weeks and months.

London : Episode III - The Revenge of the Scooters

Following the release of new reports based on data from September 2022 to September 2023, highlighting a 54% increase in scooter ridership, Transport for London has launched its tender for the third phase of its scooter-sharing trial.

One or two operators will be selected to operate across the participating boroughs of the British capital for a 24-month period expected to begin in September 2026, with a potential extension of an additional 4 years.

Despite the complexity of a heterogeneous operational zone depending on participating boroughs, London remains a strategic market for global operators who will compete vigorously to facilitate Londoners’ trips.

LAUNCHES & EXPANSIONS 🚀

Beryl
Launch in Leeds (GB) 🛴 (100)

BIT Mobility
Launch in Bergamo (IT) 🛴 (450)

Easybike
Launch in Preveza (GR) 🚲 (30)

Lime
Launch in …

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PAUSES & EXITS ⛔️

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TENDER WATCH 👀

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CITY UPDATES 🌐

Eindhoven (NL) | The city awards its 11-years MaaS contract to umob.

Italy (IT) | Mandatory license plate and insurance for scooters postponed due to technical delays.

Subscribe to premium to reveal 9 more city updates.

INDUSTRY NEWS 🗞️

Ilus launches three new shared bike models able to cover pedal or electric, stationless or station-based services.

Lime supported a total of 433,000 trips on its bikes and scooters during the the Winter Olympics in Milan (IT).

Lime now offers the LimePrime subscription across the UK for £6.99/month.

Voi invests €23.4m in Stockholm (SE), to renew its fleet and grow operation.

Bolt launches its seventh scooter season in Lithuania, and now offers helmets to comply with new regulation.