Moped-sharing kicks off in D.C. this weekend

Revel, a shared moped startup based in New York, says it will launch operations in D.C. this coming weekend. The announcement comes less than two weeks after the District said it had opened applications for a new moped-sharing pilot program, to run four months. The pilot enables companies to provide up to 400 mopeds each—a threshold Revel says it will reach.

Revel’s mopeds will be available to rent for licensed drivers 21 or older who pass background checks, and the company says around one in 12 applicants fail such screenings. The vehicles, which are accessible via Revel’s app, can carry as many as two people at a time and speed as fast as 30 mph. Rides cost $1 per passenger to start, plus 25 cents per minute to ride and 10 cents per minute when parked. The following map shows Revel’s initial service area in D.C.

Revel

All the company’s battery-powered mopeds come with two helmets, which are required to be worn on rides. Revel says it offers free driving lessons daily in addition to $300,000 per rider in third-party liability insurance. It is illegal for drivers to use mopeds on city sidewalks, but they may park mopeds on sidewalks outside D.C.’s downtown area, with certain restrictions. Revel mopeds can be used between 5 a.m. and midnight, according to the company’s website.

“We share their goals of providing new, reliable transportation options that work seamlessly in the city’s current regulatory, transportation, and parking systems and help the District meet its aggressive carbon emissions goals,” Frank Reig, Revel’s CEO and cofounder, said in a statement Tuesday. The company added that it will have a D.C. warehouse that will employ at least 30 local residents. The District is Revel’s first city of operations outside of New York.

This post has been updated with Revel’s D.C. service map.