Bolt Mobility has vanished, leaving e-bikes, unanswered calls behind in several US cities

Bolt Mobility appears to have vanished without a trace from several of its US markets.

In some cases, the departure has been sudden, leaving cities with abandoned equipment and unanswered calls.

At least five US cities, including Portland, Oregon, Burlington, South Burlington and Winooski, have stopped Bolt operations. Bolt's CEO was unable to be reached by city representatives.

Bolt and the people who have supported the company have been the subject of multiple attempts. Several employees and investors didn't reply to their emails. The customer service line doesn't seem to have anyone on it.

Bolt stopped its service in Portland. Bolt's permit to operate in Portland was suspended after the company failed to provide updated insurance and pay outstanding fees.

Bolt zooms than stalls

About 18 months ago, Bolt Mobility seemed to be on a growth streak. The company bought the assets of Last Mile in January of 2021. The purchaser opened up 48 new markets to Bolt Mobility, most of which were small cities.

Bolt is the bike share vendor in Chittenden County, Vermont, including cities Burlington, South Burlington and Winooski.

The license was renewed in 2022, according to Bryan Davis.

Bolt ceased operations on July 1st, but actually informed the county a week later. Equipment is left behind and calls are unanswered. They seem to have closed shop in other markets as well.

Sandy Thibault, executive director of Chittenden Area Transportation Management Association, told the Burlington Free Press that Bolt told employees they were going to be let go.

A person at Burlington said the same thing.

Robert Goulding, public information manager at Burlington's Department of Public Works, said that all of Bolt's contacts have gone quiet.

A number of bikes have been left on the ground with dead batteries. Chittenden County has given Bolt a time frame in which to claim or remove the company's vehicles if they want to keep them.

Mayor Tom Butt says that Bolt has stopped operating in his city.

Bolt apparently went out of business without notifying the city or removing their capital equipment. They missed the city's monthly meeting and have been unresponsive to all of their clients.

The city is coming up with a plan to remove all the abandoned equipment, and asked people to refrain from vandalizing the bikes until the city came up with a plan.

The company has not been able to confirm that it has stopped operating completely. The Bolt bike share was running as usual according to a person from St.

Bolt has not been active on his social media recently. Since June 2, the company hasn't posted on either social media platform.

Nine months ago, Bolt was peddling its in-app navigation system that it dubbed "MobilityOS." The startup promised that its next generation of scooters would include a phone mount, but it is not clear if those scooters will ever hit the streets.

Bolt has raised over 40 million dollars, which does not include an investment from India. There was no one to speak to for investors there.