The world was excited when renowned Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt launched his own line of electric scooters, but now everyone is wondering what happened to the company now that its products have been scrapped and left abandoned in several U.S. cities.
Bolt Mobility electric scooters made up the dockless rental company co-founded by the famed sprinter. Per reports from TechCrunch, the company has halted operations across several U.S. cities including Portland, OR, Burlington, VT, South Burlington, VT, Winooski, VT, Richmond, CA, as well as Richmond, VA.
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Introducing Bolt Mobility
Launched in 2018, the goal of the electric scooter company was to revolutionize “transportation through safe, smart and sustainable transit solutions aimed at reducing traffic gridlock, parking congestion and carbon-footprint impact.”
The Vanishing Act
Now, with the company’s complete departure from at least eight U.S. cities, folks have been left with unanswered calls and emails.
Equipment has also been abandoned throughout several locations. Representatives at Bolt have been unable to reach anyone at the company… not even its CEO Ignacio Tzoumas.
It Was All Good About A Year Ago
The recent Bolt news comes as a shock because just last year, the company acquired the assets of Last Mile Holdings, the former owner of micromobility companies Gotcha and OjO Electric.
In addition to that, Bolt was added to 48 new markets including smaller cities like Mobile, AL, St. Augustine, FL, and Raleigh, NC.
After acquiring Last Mile, Bolt made an agreement to continue serving as the bike-share vendor in Chittenden County, VT, as well as in the aforementioned cities in the state. The county’s senior transportation planner even confirmed that the organization renewed its license in 2022.
“We learned a couple of weeks ago (from them) that Bolt is ceasing operations,” Bryan Davis told TechCrunch.
He also noted that although the company halted operations on July 1, they were not informed until a week later.
Has Anyone Heard From Bolt?
“They’ve vanished, leaving equipment behind and emails and calls unanswered,” said Davis, according to TechCrunch. “We’re unable to reach anyone, but it seems they’ve closed shop in other markets as well.”
At this time, the company has yet to address any questions concerning its decision to pack up and close shop. The last time Bolt Mobility was active on social media was June 2 via Twitter and June 10 on Instagram.
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