Navigation, It’s Not Just For Cars: Mapbox And Scoot Optimize The Nav System For 2 Wheels

Kevin Fitchard | GIGAOM | April 21, 2014

Navigation may have found its initial home in the car dashboard, but there are many different modes of transportation we use from feet to bikes to skis that can all benefit from some turn-by-turn directions. San Francisco’s scooter-sharing startup Scoot is a good case in point.

It wanted to create a navigation system for its fleet of electric mopeds, but it had a few concerns. Its scooters don’t handle freeways well. Nor are they particularly good at mounting steep hills. So it went to open source mapper Mapbox to help it develop a turn-by-turn directions app that navigates around those obstacles.

Scoot and Mapbox announced today they have built a nav and mapping app with the capabilities and limitations of the electric scooter in mind. In addition to highways and inclines, the app can help Scoot’s customers avoid San Francisco streets with trolley tracks — notoriously unkind to two-wheeled vehicles – as well take into account the amount of juice left in the electric vehicle’s battery so you won’t find yourself stranded a mile from your destination.