May 23, 2023 — Today, Spin is excited to announce a major expansion of our Spin Access low-income pricing program as part of a concerted effort to continuously make our mobility service more equitable and inclusive of all members in the Pittsburgh community.
Following a thorough evaluation of ridership data gathered over the 2-year pilot program, we determined that more could be done to broaden access to our popular e-scooters, particularly among low-income residents and those with limited access to affordable transportation.
To this end, we are now pleased to offer our enhanced Spin Access program, which includes up to five (5) free 30-minute trips per day to all qualified residents enrolled in Spin Access.
To qualify for our Spin Access program, local residents in Pittsburgh must have an income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Specifically, $55,500, or less for a family of four (4), and $27,180 or less for a single-person.
What factors led us to this decision?
- Over the last two years, we have seen strong demand from a lower-income base of users. This includes an impressive 45% of our Spin riders who make less than $50k per year. Looking ahead, we are confident that we can better serve low-income residents by reducing the upfront cost barrier of our existing Spin Access offering.
- At the moment, we have only 390 registered Spin Access users in Pittsburgh. More demand from low-income residents certainly exists than was being met by our previous Spin Access program structure, which offered eligible residents a discounted pricing rate of $0.07 cents per minute + $0.50 unlock fee. This was equivalent to an 80% discount off our standard fare rate $0.39 cents per minute + $1 to unlock.
- Pittsburgh’s single-vendor regulatory framework (i.e., one operator) without excessive fees enables us to double down on our investment in equitable pricing. Based on our success in nearby Washington DC and Baltimore where an impressive 5.7% of all Spin trips are taken by low-income riders, we are excited to get the word out and significantly increase ridership among low-income residents in Pittsburgh in the months ahead.
Residents who are interested in signing up for Spin Access to receive up to five (5) free 30-minute trips per day can sign-up online at https://www.spin.app/spin-access or alternatively can call our toll-free Customer Support team at (888) 249-9698.
For more information on our Spin Access equity pricing program in Pittsburgh, please contact Brit Moller, Head of Public Policy at brit.moller@spin.pm.
