Ford’s micromobility company Spin has expanded rapidly in recent years across North America and Europe as more and more people are looking at electric scooters as convenient ways to traverse dense cities. The company’s expansion plan may soon include spinning it off, merging it into some sort of special-purpose acquisition company, or even selling it altogether. In the meantime, Spin continues to improve its operations, most recently by giving its e-scooters Google Maps integration.
This announcement comes on the heels of Ford’s recent announcement that it will use Google’s Android operating system in its vehicles starting in 2023. The Google Maps integration means that users in 84 cities, campuses, and towns in Europe and North America will be able to find Spin e-scooters and e-bikes while looking for directions in the application.
Google Maps will present users with the location of Spin vehicles in real-time along with additional information, including the amount of time it will take to walk to the scooter or bike, the estimated battery range of that vehicle, and the expected arrival time. From there, users will be able to access the Spin app to pay for the trip, unlock the vehicle, and initiate a ride.
Google Maps integration is the latest advancement for Spin as micromobility transportation solutions continue to grow in popularity around the world, particularly for students that live on college campuses and those that reside in urban areas with little available parking. It also follows a number of recent integrations Spin has introduced on its vehicles, including CityMapper, Moovit, Transit, and Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB).
“With this integration, Spin is making it easier for millions of Google Maps users to easily incorporate shared bikes and scooters into their daily trips,” said Spin CEO Ben Bear. “Our goal is to make it as low friction as possible for consumers to plan multi-modal journeys. It needs to be just as easy, and even more convenient to get around with bikes, buses, trains, and scooters as it is with a personal car. This collaboration with Google is our biggest platform integration yet with many more in the pipeline.”
We’ll have more on Spin soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for continuous Ford news coverage.
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