Leading e-scooter company announces it’s pulling out of Atlanta, other ‘smaller markets’

One of the big players in the e-scooter market is pulling its dockless vehicle operations out of town.

On Thursday, Lyft officials told TechCrunch the mobility company would withdraw its two-wheelers from Atlanta, as well as Nashville, San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, and Columbus.

A Lyft spokesperson told the publication it would be focusing its e-scooter and bike efforts in markets “where we can have the biggest impact.”

The decision to uproot from these six “smaller markets” also entailed laying off 20 employees from Lyft’s 400-person bikes and scooters team.

That might explain why the email address of a senior communications manager, with whom Curbed Atlanta had previously corresponded, appears to have been disconnected.

Lyft is the second e-scooter company to leave Atlanta, on the heels of Gotcha, which had a considerably smaller intown operation. Two other transportation alternatives, Uber’s red Jump bikes and those yellow two-wheelers from China-based ofo, have also departed Atlanta.

Lyft—about as prevalent a name in the e-scooter biz as Bird, the first to bring the rides to Atlanta—had been licensed to provide 2,000 dockless vehicles; whereas Gotcha was permitted for just 500 and had about 100 on the road at the time of its departure, in August.

The ride-hailing company’s decision to get out of Dodge also comes just before City of Atlanta officials are set to reform the dockless vehicle regulations enacted in January, about eight months after Bird dropped its first fleet around town.

Of course, this hardly means ATL e-transportation will be scarce. Bird, Uber, Lime, and Bolt still operate e-scooters locally, while Wheels and Boaz Bikes offer hybrids with seats.