Seeing Yourself in a Shared Micromobility Role
To complement NABSA’s Building a Better Shared Micromobility Industry: Best Practices for More Diverse and Inclusive Workplaces toolkit and strategy to increase diversity in the shared micromobility workforce at all levels we launched “Workforce Diversity Wednesdays”. This blog and social media series spotlights jobs in shared micromobility throughout the year. We post interviews with individuals in the shared micromobility industry highlighting their work and role with the hopes of encouraging more diversity and representation in the field.
Meet Abel Braughton! Abel (they/them) is a longtime cyclist and works for Lyft as the General Manager of Divvy in Chicago, Illinois. Read more and learn about their journey to shared micromobility below:
How did you come to arrive at working in shared micromobility and your current role?
In a previous life, I primarily worked in startups/startup accelerators focusing on food access and transit accessibility. As an avid bike rider and public transit enthusiast (some may say nerd), my focus and career started to focus more around transit and slowly my worlds began to combine.
When I applied for the role, scooters were pretty new and a brand new playing field for transportation companies. It was really exciting to be on the forefront of a new vehicle, alongside an institutional bikeshare system like Divvy.
.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
Honestly, my job is awesome. Being in the driver seat of (one of) the largest micromobility system(s) in North America, I’ve had so many career highlights trying new products and concepts that have re-shaped our system and informed other cities’ perspectives on the value of shared bikes and scooters.
I get to learn something new almost every day, and I get to see our efforts played out in real time (for better and for worse). I haven’t been immune to tears when seeing riders take e-bikes in new expansion areas and then start advocating for more bike lanes in their neighborhoods. The full circle is often the most rewarding.
What has surprised you most about your job?
Hm, great question! Likely the sheer amount of mechanic knowledge that can be incredibly beneficial to the role. Knowing why and where our bikes and scooters are important, knowing how they work is another. I like to stay close to the operation as possible and (try to) understand as much as possible about our hardware so we have a clear understanding of what’s going on in the field or with our riders, and as always, how we can improve!