Pogo to Go

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Is it time to #JumpIntoTheFuture? No, that is not the slogan for the Uber-owned bikeshare program (read: JUMP) that has been making its way throughout cities in America. Instead, it represents an entirely new product that is slated to hit the San Francisco market in summer 2019 – pogo sticks.


(Source: Cangaroo)

The Swedish start-up company Cangoroo has been making the rounds on various social media and news websites due to its announcement that it is bringing the 1970s fad onto the streets in an attempt to break into the micromobility market. Cangoroo’s press release explicitly states that it is “picking up the fight against fast-growing Electric Scooter Sharing Companies” as it works to bring in investors and make their strategy known. Initial reception has been skeptical to whether this is a genuine idea or a joke. A quick survey of whether fellow Luskin students would be interested in riding a pogo stick from one location to the next yields the following responses:

“This can’t be real. Who would even use this?”

“Pogo sticks are fun to play around with, but they’re not an efficient means of transportation, and really up the potential to fall and hurt yourself.”

"This makes me furious."

“I’d ride a pogo stick for like 5 minutes in a park, sure, but not as a way to get anywhere.”

"It's a terrible idea for mobility. Hard to use. Probably super dangerous on a sidewalk. Also I think it hurts micromobility in general because it just gives anti-scooter and anti-bike people such low handing fruit to attack along crowded and dangerous sidewalk arguments."

"I can't wait for twitter to show people javelining them."

Though there appears to be widespread disbelief at the idea, the Cangoroo team is adamant that they are a real start-up. Still, things are not all as they appear. The publicity generated in the media over the pogo sticks may be exactly what the firm wants. According to a May 18 update to the Cangoroo press release, “[o]ur choice of shared pogo sticks as out first product is a planned out strategy in order to stand out in today’s media landscape and build an engaging brand in the generic last mile transportation’ category.” They continue that “[n]aturally, we’ll soon be announcing complementary, more daily commute-focused, products to our fleet (more similar to the largely popular e-scooters with a genuine focus on sustainability and health”.

Essentially, though pogo sticks may be coming onto the market, this is a publicity stunt for a more traditional micromobility system.


(Source: Cangoroo)

So while the pogo sticks may not stay for long, what effect could this publicity stunt have on the perception of micromobility as a whole? Also, is Cangoroo’s “fight against fast-growing Electric Scooter Sharing Companies” just a way for them to become another…fast-growing electric scooter company? Time will tell, but if a pile of pogo sticks in the middle of the sidewalk incites public furor, then the campaign to get people to support these new forms of mobility may be set back a bit.

In the meantime, enjoy this promotional video from Cangoroo, and if you decide to take a pogo stick from your home to your work in the future, don’t forget to wear a helmet.


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