Insights and news from the ATOM Mobility team

What began as a local partnership with Bird in 2020 has since grown into a fully independent scooter-sharing business with operations in Aruba and Costa Rica – and soon, mopeds in Spain. At the heart of this shift is e-moob’s decision to take full control of its fleet, its brand, and its technology. That control, Santos says, came with switching to ATOM Mobility.

Launch date: 2020 (with Bird), independent launch with ATOM Mobility in December 2024
‍Country: Aruba and Costa Rica
‍App Store: 4.9 / 5 ⭐
‍Google Play: 4.8 / 5 ⭐
‍Fleet: 150+ scooters in Aruba, smaller fleet in Costa Rica
‍Web page: https://e-moob.com
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/e-moob/id6642640340
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=e.moob.app

In a market as compact and tourism-driven as Aruba, micromobility is a unique challenge. There’s limited space, high operational costs, and intense competition for visitor attention. But for Luis Santos, co-founder of e-moob, it was also the perfect opportunity.

Starting in a market built for tourism

e-moob launched in Aruba, where the economy relies heavily on tourism - over 3 million visitors per year. Almost all of e-moob’s users are tourists, with 99% of rides coming from short-term visitors. The island’s layout and mild weather make it ideal for short scooter trips along the coastline, especially in popular resort areas.

“Aruba is a super small market, and it can get flooded quickly,” says Santos. “We learned from experience that we can’t go beyond 1,000 scooters here. So when we wanted to grow, we had to expand outside the island.”

That led to e-moob’s second market: Tamarindo, Costa Rica – another sunny, coastal town with a young, active tourist crowd. The business model remains the same: light, flexible mobility for short-distance use, tailored to tourism patterns.

Long setup, fast scale

Launching operations in Aruba wasn’t quick. “Before we even started, it took almost a year to get everything ready – registering the company, getting licenses, even just opening a bank account,” Santos explains.

The technical launch also had its challenges. When e-moob moved to its own brand using ATOM Mobility in December 2024, there were initial issues with starting rides due to firmware and hardware compatibility. “Some scooters couldn’t be unlocked properly, and we had a few tough days. But the team at ATOM Mobility helped fix it quickly, and within a week we had everything working smoothly.”

Before launching under the name e-moob, the team operated using their own brand called Evikes on the Bird platform. “That’s how Bird was working with partners back then,” says Santos. “It was our brand, but the operations were fully integrated with Bird’s system.” This setup helped them gain visibility among tourists – especially American visitors who already had the Bird app – but also came with limitations.

Switching to ATOM Mobility: Gaining control

Before launching under their own name, e-moob operated under Bird’s platform. While that brought initial visibility and trust – especially from American tourists who already had the Bird app installed – it came with limitations. All changes, pricing, or refunds had to go through Bird’s team. When parts or new scooters were needed, delays became a serious problem.

Eventually, the lack of flexibility pushed e-moob to go independent.

With ATOM Mobility, Santos and his team gained full control. “Now I can change prices, send bonuses, and refund directly. We also choose and buy our own units from Okai, instead of waiting for Bird. We manage customer service in-house. It’s been a major change.”

The result? e-moob is now operating at nearly the same revenue level with their new ATOM-powered fleet of 160 scooters as they were with their much larger Bird fleet of around 300 to 400 units. “We make almost the same amount of money with half the scooters,” says Santos. “That was an unexpected success.”

Adapting to the local market

Electricity prices in Aruba are high – around 2.5 times higher than in Miami – which directly impacts scooter charging costs. This shaped e-moob’s pricing strategy. Rides cost about $0.56 per minute and $1.07 to unlock, including the local 7% tax. These prices are slightly higher than in mainland U.S. markets but necessary to maintain profitability.

As for user features, subscriptions and loyalty programs haven’t played a big role yet. “Most of our users are tourists – they come, ride, and leave. There’s no long-term user behavior,” Santos explains. 

Running the business day-to-day

Santos still handles customer support personally and uses ATOM’s admin tools daily to manage refunds, view ride history, and track issues. “We get very few support emails – maybe 10 to 15 a month, even with thousands of rides. Most issues come from signal delays when the scooters are in sleep mode.”

While e-moob doesn’t rely heavily on heatmaps or demand analytics (the team already knows exactly where to place the scooters in such a small market), the monthly dashboards and ride data remain useful for tracking performance.

Santos is also looking forward to using upcoming feature that allows tagging locations on the map – restaurants, hotels, or partner businesses – to increase visibility and engagement.

Challenges and strategic pivots

One of the biggest challenges came when Bird stopped supplying new hardware. “Our competitors arrived, and we needed new scooters, but Bird couldn’t deliver. We waited over a year, and that’s when we realized we had to build our own brand.”

Buying directly from Okai and using ATOM Mobility gave e-moob independence. It also opened the door to support multiple vehicle types. That’s essential for their next move: launching moped (Vespa-style) sharing in Spain.

“We’re already negotiating with suppliers,” says Santos. “We’re aiming to start next summer in Spain – our first European market. It’s a big step, especially since mopeds are a new category for us. New parts, new maintenance, new challenges. But we’re ready.”

Looking ahead: Europe and beyond

The moped launch in Spain isn’t just about growth. It’s a way to move into more scalable, tourism-driven markets. Aruba has reached its limit, and Costa Rica has proven slow to scale due to logistics and local bureaucracy. Europe offers a more mature market – and new opportunities.

e-moob is also in discussions with local delivery apps for third-party integrations. While current scooter zones are too limited to justify monthly fees, mopeds will expand the service range and open new B2B possibilities.

Santos is also exploring the potential of building stronger local loyalty by partnering with businesses and hotels. It’s a small use case, but one that could help bridge the gap between tourism and local use.

From hobby to ecosystem

Surprisingly, e-moob is a side business for Santos. His main company provides IT infrastructure for hotels and casinos, while he also manages a real estate firm and a smart home business in the U.S.

That existing network actually helped launch e-moob. “We started by placing scooters in private buildings developed by people I already worked with. Public spaces weren’t available at first, so private locations made it possible,” he recalls. “Now, we even have scooter parking inside the Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis hotels.”

Community, growth, and the power of being present

Santos regularly attends industry events like the Micromobility Conference. “It’s small, but valuable,” he says. “Meeting partners in person helps us move deals forward. Last year we made great connections. This year we’re closing our first moped deal because of those conversations.”

For Santos, success is not about buzzwords or fast scaling. It’s about growing smart, solving real problems, and building sustainable operations. “We’re proud of how far we’ve come. We’ve grown the fleet, expanded the business, and made something that works.”

Advice for new operators?

“Get full control from day one. Don’t depend on someone else’s rules,” Santos says. “The more control you have – over the operations, the pricing, the support – the better you can react to what your market really needs.”

With its strong base in Aruba, growing operations in Costa Rica, and exciting plans for Europe, e-moob is not just a scooter company – it’s a case study in smart, independent micromobility growth.

ATOM Mobility is introducing a new way for users to start their rental journey: the Web-booker widget 🗓️

With this tool, users can book a car (or other vehicle) directly from merchant's website without first downloading the rider app. It creates a smoother entry point for new users while keeping the app central for payments, ID verification, and ride management.

How it works

✅ A dedicated booking link for every merchant
✅ Customers choose area, vehicle, and rental period → confirm booking in seconds
✅ Widget syncs bookings into system automatically
✅ After booking, a QR code + App Store / Google Play links are shown so users can continue in the app
✅ In the mobile app, users finalize payment and ID/driver’s license verification before starting the trip

🎨 The widget matches app’s primary color for a seamless, branded look.
📊 Every booking now shows its Source – App, Web-booker, Dashboard, or API.

👉 Demo it here: app.atommobility.com/rental-widget

Why it matters

Many successful digital rental and mobility platforms combine web and app booking flows to maximize conversion.

Take Turo for example:

• Customers browsing online can instantly reserve a car on turo.com.
• But to unlock the car, upload their driver’s license, and manage the trip, they switch to the dedicated mobile app.
• This dual flow lowers friction for new users while keeping security and payments centralized in the app.

New ATOM Web-booker works the same way - creating an easy on-ramp from website, while letting the app handle verification and payments.

This feature also aligns with the broader industry evolution we covered in Traditional Car Rental vs Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing vs On-demand Car Sharing artticle. As booking models diversify, offering multiple access points - web + app + api – is becoming a standard expectation from customers.

Market context

The global car-sharing market (including peer-to-peer sharing) is projected to reach USD 28.7 billion by 2030, growing from USD 11.5 billion in 2025 at 20% annual growth rate, with digital-first players outpacing traditional operators. One of the biggest success drivers? Reducing onboarding friction and providing automated processes.

• Majority of new customers discover rental brands online before downloading an app.
• Peer-to-peer platforms like Turo and Getaround already leverage web-based flows to capture demand at the discovery stage.
• Traditional operators are also moving to hybrid web+app models to compete with on-demand mobility startups.

The message is clear: giving customers multiple, seamless entry points directly impacts conversion and utilization.

Enabled by default

The Web-booker is enabled by default for all ATOM Mobility digital rental merchants for free. Just place the booking button on your website, and your customers are ready to go.

📩 Want to see how the Web-booker can boost your conversion and simplify rentals? Get in touch with our team and let’s set it up for you.

The ride-hailing market is always changing. From Latin America to Eastern Europe, platforms like inDrive have popularized a new norm: letting riders suggest what they want to pay. Now, in response to this growing global trend, ATOM Mobility is proud to introduce: Offer your price – a fully configurable pricing feature built right into your rider app.

💡How It works

Available on all ride-hail projects, this feature lets riders propose a price – higher or lower than the default fare – within operator-set limits. Drivers can then accept or decline based on the offer.

Here’s how it reshapes the experience:

In the Rider app:

• A new "Offer your price" button appears when selecting a vehicle class.
• Riders can slide or tap “+/-” buttons to adjust price:
  • e.g. +30% to get a faster ride 🟢
  • or -10% to save on a flexible trip 🔵
• For scheduled rides, this feature is disabled to keep things predictable.

Smart logic behind the slider:

Your admin dashboard defines the limits – say, up to +500% from regular price and down to -30% – and the app calculates step sizes automatically:

• +500% limit → 1 step = 5%
• +100% limit → 1 step = 1%
• +200% limit → 1 step = 2%

Slider position adapts dynamically, depending on your defined range. And yes – the button color and style can be customized to match your brand 🎨.

On the operator dashboard:

You’ll find complete control and clarity:

• Enable/disable the feature per vehicle class
• Set custom % limits for price increase/decrease
• Price card, exports and ride activity logs are all updated with the adjusted ride price
• New ride status - Ride requested (adjusted ride price) for transparency in reporting

What drivers see:

In the driver app:

• Price offers are marked clearly (e.g. 🔻 "Discount requested" or 🔺 "Extra fee offered");
• Final earnings are adjusted accordingly and logged in driver stats.

Who's already doing this – and winning?

Real-world companies are already proving that rider-defined pricing works:

🚘 inDrive (LATAM, Africa, Asia)
Now one of the top global ride-hailing players outside the U.S. (over 200M downloads, active in 700+ cities across 45+ countries), inDrive built its brand around rider-negotiated pricing. It helps them stand out in price-sensitive markets and win over both drivers and passengers with more transparent pricing dynamics.

🚖 Comin (France)
A local success story, Comin has embraced flexible rider pricing to gain traction in several French cities (onboarded 6,000+ drivers). The feature gives them an edge against larger platforms, offering more freedom for users and better utilization for drivers.

These examples show that letting riders bid their price isn’t just a gimmick – it’s a growth strategy.

From our previosu blog “How to Find Your Niche in the Ride-Hail Market”, we saw how localisation and user control drive loyalty and conversion.

This new pricing flexibility supports:

• Emerging markets with income-sensitive riders
• Driver shortages, where riders can tip in real-time
• Brand positioning, letting you stand apart from competition

🚀 Ready to lead the market?

This is just one of the 300+ features available in ATOM’s white-label ride-hailing platform.

Let’s talk about how to launch or upgrade your app with “Offer your price”, advanced pricing logic, and more tools to dominate your niche.

👉 Contact our team and explore how to become the market leader: www.atommobility.com

In 2024, the global car-sharing market was valued at approximately €8.9 billion, with Europe accounting for over 50.2% of that total. Analysts forecast it will grow at a CAGR of 11.8% between 2025 and 2033, reaching roughly €24.4 billion by 2033. This blend of urbanization, environmental regulation and a growing preference for flexible mobility continues to create fertile ground for operators - yet not every service finds a clear path to profitability.

Success hinges on your location, business model, fleet, operations and local market dynamics. There are strong success stories, but also many high-profile failures. Here’s a closer look at what really affects profitability in today’s car-sharing market - and what you can learn from real-world cases.

What makes a car-sharing business profitable?

Profitability in car sharing boils down to securing enough paid usage while keeping costs under control. Every unused hour or unnecessary expense erodes margins.

Key factors:

• Fleet utilization – the most important metric. Cars need to be in use several hours each day to cover fixed costs.
• Operational efficiency – cleaning, charging, relocation, maintenance and insurance add up quickly.
• Fleet acquisition – leasing usually optimizes cash flow and scalability, but still carries fixed monthly expenses.
• Pricing and competition – too low cuts margins; too high drives away users. Finding the right balance is essential.
• Tech stack – a robust platform automates operations, improves customer experience and reduces support costs.

The operators who win are those who combine solid daily usage with lean operations.

❌ PANEK S.A. suspends its car-sharing service to focus on rental

29 March 2025 marked the end of Panek’s car-sharing experiment. Despite peaking at 2 700–3 000 vehicles, Panek never turned a profit in over seven years.

About Panek

• Launch: Car sharing added in 2017 by Maciej Panek, entirely internally funded (no VC)
• Fleet mix: City cars, hybrids, EVs, cargo vans and vintage models
• 2023 acquisition: Regional Rent (+ 45% fleet), making Panek Poland’s largest integrated rental/operator

2024 performance

• Revenue split: Car sharing ≈ 20 % of total. Traditional rental 80 %
• Utilization: 0.7–1.0 rides/car/day
• Maintenance & overhead: Up to €690/car-month
• Profitability: Negative since inception

Why it failed

1. Under-utilization: < 1 ride/day vs. ~ 2-4 rides/day needed to cover fixed costs
2. Price wars: Fierce competition in Warsaw eroded margins and drove up customer-acquisition costs
3. High OPEX: Parking, maintenance, insurance and vandalism pushed costs > €690 per car each month
4. Tech drag: Two-year outsourced app development cycle meant poor UX and slow feature delivery
5. No public support: Missed out on parking incentives or EV subsidies

Faced with persistent losses, Panek’s leadership refocused on profitable core segments: daily/weekly rentals, corporate leasing and Fleet-as-a-Service.

🚗 WiBLE Spain finds its profitable lane in Madrid

WiBLE (50/50 joint venture between Kia Europe and Repsol) launched in 2018 and has just closed its second consecutive year with positive EBITDA.

• Fleet: 600+ plug-in hybrids (Kia Niro, XCeed, Ceed Tourer)
• 2024 revenue: €6.93 million (+ 5% vs. 2023)
• Usage: ~1 500 trips/day ⇒ 2.5 rides/car/day
• ‍Diversification: Monthly rentals (€599+) now 5% of revenue‍
• Market share: ~19% of Madrid’s car-sharing market

Key enablers:

1. Higher utilization – rides up 15% YoY, driving a 10% lift in core revenue
2. Fleet scale efficiencies – added 150 vehicles in 2 years, lowering per-unit costs
3. Service diversification – multi-day and monthly rental options opened new revenue streams

After five years of absorbing fixed-cost drag and depreciation, WiBLE now leverages Madrid’s regulatory environment (low-emission zones, parking benefits) and delivers lean, tech-driven operations.

🚗 SOCAR South Korea: scale + longer rentals

SOCAR (backed by SoftBank, SK Inc. and Lotte Group) operates 20 000 vehicles, generates nearly €300 million in annual turnover and has 20% of South Koreans signed up.

• Model: Station-based, pay-per-minute with average rental duration of a whoping 12 hrs
• Segmentation trick: Aging cars shift from on-demand sharing to long-term monthly rentals (10% of revenue), extending resale life with minimal depreciation impact

By pairing massive scale with savvy car lifecycle management, extra-long rental duration, SOCAR converts high utilization into robust profitability.

🚗 Carguru (Latvia)

30 August 2024: Carguru (est. 2017) acquired EV-focused OX Drive (est. 2021), adding 200+ Tesla to the fleet.

• Growth: From just 30 cars and total budget below 500 000 EUR (2017) to over 1 000 cars (mid-2025) via leasing and strategic partnerships
• 2023 turnover: €4 million; 435 000 trips (+35.9 %); 7 million km driven; profit €375 600

Outcome: A combined ICE, hybrid and EV fleet—backed by local expertise and strategic acquisitions - has driven strong growth and high utilization.

🎯 Core suggestions for aspiring operators

1. Target 2–4 rides/day per vehicle
   • Leverage dynamic/off-peak pricing, B2B partnerships (hotels, offices) and event tie-ins.
2. Contain OPEX via automation
   • Use predictive maintenance, remote diagnostics and gig-economy cleaning/relocation.
3. Secure municipal support early
   • Negotiate parking incentives, EV charging access and low-emission zone permits.
4. Choose your tech wisely
   • Build an in-house development team for full control with higher costs, or adopt a proven white-label platform for speed to market, stability and lower costs.
5. Validate unit economics before scaling
   • Prove break-even utilization in one zone before expanding to others.

With clear benchmarks and smart execution - drawing on lessons from Panek, WiBLE, SOCAR and Carguru - car sharing can still be a highly profitable component of a modern mobility portfolio.

If you’re planning to start or improve your service, ATOM Mobility is ready to help. We’ve built the platform and supported dozens of teams worldwide - reach out, and we’ll share what we’ve learned.

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Image credit: https://kursors.lv/2018/03/13/carguru-palielina-autoparku-un-paplasina-darbibas-zonas-mikrorajonos