Setting out to make her daily commute better and her visits to see relatives in the suburbs a bit smoother on her Vespa, Meghan Braley tapped into the micromobility navigation software market.
A year later, her application ScootRoute is available nationally and has garnered interest abroad.
Similar to Waze and Google Maps, ScootRoute provides turn-by-turn navigation, but it specifically caters to those traveling less than 30 to 35 miles per hour on an e-bike or motor scooter.
Braley has been a Vespa rider for more than a decade now, inspired by her time oversees studying abroad in Europe and working in countries there. But she didn’t see a market for her concept until recently—late June of 2019, to be exact. That was around the time companies like Bird and Lime had popularized the kickstand e-scooter craze. Braley began to think bigger: How many people could benefit from a navigation software catered to them?
Braley, a Needham native now living in Boston, originally launched the ScootRoute app to scooter riders in Massachusetts exclusively. In its first month, ScootRoute garnered about 1,000 downloads. People in the U.K. and Canada began reaching out, and Braley began to recognize the app's potential to expand in markets outside the Bay State.
“Originally, when I was first doing it, I was thinking of targeting some of the larger markets," Braley said. "But then as the development process went on, it was kind of like, ‘Well, what's the harm if this works everywhere?’"
Just like you would plug an address into any navigation system, ScootRoute users do the same but can make note of what mode of transportation they’re on, how fast they want to go and what type of route they prefer. Users must also turn on their location services in order to use the app.
The customization aspect of her app is what Braley says sets her apart from big-name navigation software companies. As of now, the app is free and relies on Google AdMob advertising for its revenue stream.
Technically speaking, the app is controlled by Cloud Construct, a web design and development company based in Milton. It uses three different technologies in order to run, including two mapping services and road information and data. Braley works with the Cloud Construct CEO, as well as a project manager who has a team working on design, front-end and back-end development and overall problem-solving and strategy for the application.
Users are allowed to provide feedback, but Braley says the app is relatively up to date in terms of adding new bike routes. One recent ride downtown showed that even temporary pilot lanes are loaded into the system.
“My app was telling me that there's a bike lane here; it's like, ‘I know that there is no bike lane on Arlington Street,’” Braley said. “And I show up, and there's those big orange [barrels], and on the lefthand side, a big sign that says 'bike lane.'”
ScootRoute's market opportunity is partially fueled by the pandemic, which has recently led to an uptick in scooter sales. But it is also fueled by the simple fact that nothing like ScootRoute exists anywhere in the world—not even in Europe. Braley realized she had something one of a kind in her hands.
As she sees heightened interest in the micromobility market and more venture capital money being poured into it, Braley intends to expand to other countries. She is also exploring different types of funding options for her company going forward.
“I think [the market’s] going to continue to go crazy, just because people are trying to socially distance and they may not be taking the bus or the train that they would have originally taken a year ago,” Braley said.
And for skeptics out there who may think their cities or towns can’t handle a rise in scooters, e-bikes or mopeds in the years ahead, Braley struck a more optimistic tone.
“It’s going to get better,” she said.
Jordan Frias is a contributing writer for BostInno.
Correction: This article previously stated that ScootRoute garnered 700,000 downloads in its first month, rather than about 1,000. We regret the error.
