Modern Vespa

What's up guys and girls just wanted to introduce myself and say hello!!! Been following this forum for a couple months now. Finally decided to sign up. So my name is Chris and I'm the Operations Specialist at Split Rides!! You may be asking what is Split? We are a brand new transportation company located in SoCal similar to Lyft or Uber but with motorcycles!!! Specifically MP3's 8) 8)

I'm here to meet new friends expanded my knowledge of the bikes and share cool stories... Let me know if I can answer any questions.


Fun fact we currently own 5 MP-3's and hope to own the most in the US soon


Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for having me!!

To be clear....you are saying that you will have mp3 riders giving passenger rides? The insurance would be interesting.

Motorcycle taxis are quite common in Europe. They've been around in London for over 20 years.

Très cool. Greetings from Toronto, Canada.

Hi,

Loads of mocy taxis here. Some use Grab some do not. Uber is not allowed here??

Yep I have drivers that we pay hourly giving passengers "FREE rides anywhere in LA. Its currently free to all my early access rides who download our app in the app store under Split Rides. Just looking for feedback in return.

Yep all the bikes are fully insured, registered and owned by us. Passengers agree to terms of usage before they may ride and need to be 18+

Yep if you have ever been to Europe or Southeast Asia its the norm!!! We hope to spread the love here in the States.... Even in a Uber or Lyft your still sitting in the same traffic...

Thanks Soul Surfer!1

Yep waspmike GOJex is the most popular and have over 1 million drivers!! We hope to get to 25 bikes with 50 drivers in the short term..... Currently fundraising to acquire more bikes!!

Got some more pics to share of our MP3's!!!

If 'drivers' are going to be on the ride for several hours at a time you may want to consider Old as Dirt's floorboards. Highway pegs are VERY helpful when riding an MP3. I don't recall exactly if they would widen the overall ride; depends on the pegs I'd guess.

Same goes for passengers; some better footpegs may aid in passenger comfort (though I'm not familiar with the design of the passenger foot rests on the new model MP3 500).

Could you show me a pic so I may see what they look like, I'm interested for sure!! More passenger and driver comfort is what we want to improve for sure!! Currently our drivers only do 6 hour shifts, and typically the rides are 3-4 miles. Also we don't do any freeway riding with passengers on board. Local surface streets only. Our app navigation routing doesn't allow freeway routing for passenger safety.

https://modernvespa.com/forum/topic136002

let me know if your interested. send me a pm with your phone and we can talk.

The MP3 is perfect for this application. With the tilt-lock and parking brake on, it's easy for the passenger to get on and make themselves comfortable. Then the rider can get on and just drive off.

totally agree with this. these machines are perfect for 2 up. you don't get that nervous front end twitch when extra weight is on the back suspension. wish you luck fella.

Well done. Your bikes look the business. Good luck with your venture.

At the risk of exposing myself as a crazy old codger, my guess is that you have very little experience with motorcycles and none at all with mp3 500s and business ventures.

Start ups are always risky, hang in there and get some experience....

I'm curious as to saying why you are saying this? The website looks good and the service has been proven to work elsewhere. Unless you know something I don't it seems like a business that can work provided the TOS is rock solid and the waiver protects the company from liability in case if an accident. With enough miles you can almost guarantee there will be an accident at some point.

The only thing I see I do not like is that the riders can work with only an M1. I would definitely want someone riding me around to have a full M or I would tell them to get off and get on the back.

Good luck with the business!

*EDIT* Scratch that I guess an M1 is a full license in California? Here we have M2, M1 and M.

The California vehicle code states that 3 wheelers are vehicles and do not require a motorcycle license. It also permits lane splitting and requires a helmet. It's safe to say that nearly half the motorcycles in the USA are in Ca.

With regard to licensing, the UK moto taxi riders need to have more than just a motorcycle licence - they have to have IAM, ROSPA or Police training. ROSPA Gold or Police Class 1 preferred...

Institute of Advanced Motorists https://www.iamroadsmart.com/courses/advanced-rider-course
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents https://www.rospa.com/

That I like. I do not think it should be onerous to get a motorcycle license but if you are going to responsible for someone else's well being on a PTW you should at least have some extra training. I've been in a few taxi cabs that have gotten in to an accident. On a motorbike even a simple accident can cause some pretty serious injuries.

Sure, if it is someone you know well such as a spouse or a family member a regular motorcycle license is all good. But for a service that transports strangers that may not be used to be being a pillion a little extra training makes good sense.

If you ever expand to Washington DC, let me know. I can see doing that as a side gig. And I have motorcycle courier and MP3 experience. Just have to go slower with Live packages being delivered and stay off the sidewalks I guess.

That is exactly how we do it, and it works great!! So stable for customers and tons of room without having to touch anyone.

Wonder if a PCV&CPC would do?

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate all the positive vibes!!! We are working hard to make this a reality and get people aware of how great these bikes truly are!!

Thanks for your concern, but actually I have over 20 years riding motorcycles and I myself do all the maintenance, bodywork panels, camera systems, everything on the MP3 except change the tires due to not having the machine


Start-ups are very risky indeed, but if we don't take chances in life what fun is that If this can work overseas, it should be able to work in the states. We do realize this isn't for everyone, and we will have lots of challenges along the way....

I love all feedback negative and positive so thank you for the response and hopefully you see us in SD within the next year or two #takesplit #MP3takeover

Harbinger yes M1 here in the states is a full motorcycle license, which is actually more then what is required here for the MP-3.

Our drivers are required to be 25 or older, have a M-1 license, and also at least 5 years riding experience splitting lanes, and riding passengers, also they must pass a background check and have no DUI's

Thanks for the good luck, I will take all we can get

While you are 100% correct, I think this loophole is dangerous and very misleading to non-experienced motorcycle riders..... But just my opinion, not knocking anyone that wants one just please be safe and do your research.

We require our drivers to all have M1 license's along with other requirements previous stated in my other post.

These bikes handle very similar to a two-wheel motorcycle and can get you in the same amount of trouble! Respect the MP3

Thanks for the reply, we are currently looking into something similar like this, either with CHP advanced riding course, LAPD, advanced riding course, or even a professional riding instructor to do a custom class/school for us.

We want our customers to feel safe 24/7 and the more credentials our drivers can have the better....

Awesome I'm from VA originally and that beltway can be a mess!!! Let us get California nailed down 1st, then we will consider tackling the East coast.


Over here now even Burger King has started to deliver food via motorcycle to your drivers door while sitting in traffic on the 405!! No BS

It'd be nice to think so.

PCV - or a D1 licence - I doubt it. I've had that on my licence since 1969, no special test necessary back then, it just came with the car licence. !

CPC is for professional driving of lorries and buses etc - so not really relevant to motorcycle taxis.

ALL THE BEST TO YOU. Some people talk about it, some people BE ABOUT IT.

What process did you use to paint the bikes?