Traffic congestion in some of the world’s busiest cities is an ongoing scourge, but switching car trips for micro-mobility solutions could save energy, CO2 emissions, and time – not only saving energy but also personal time! Micromobility includes everything from kick e-scooters to cargo bikes – it can serve as an efficient solution for first and last-mile delivery services while helping reduce congestion and emissions in urban centers.
1. Affordability
Micro-mobility encompasses many new smaller human transport tools. Any device without an internal combustion engine and traveling at less than 45km/h qualifies as micro-mobility. After experiencing a decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have returned to micro-mobility as an affordable mode of urban travel and errand running. Many city residents feel their public transit system doesn’t meet their needs and therefore more options must be explored; using micro-mobility may offer this solution.
2. Environmental Impact
Electric micromobility offers an eco-friendly alternative to private vehicles, emitting less carbon. Furthermore, its space-saving characteristics free up more land for housing or other needs. Individuals also find it relatively affordable, whether purchasing or renting the device themselves, which promotes economic sustainability and boosts local economic activity. Sophisticated technologies also reduce congestion and pollution – just imagine Carrie Bradshaw using her smartphone to rent an electric scooter to cross her final few blocks to her office – it would certainly cut through traffic!
3. Safety
Micromobility offers numerous benefits, from alleviating city traffic to saving personal time and carbon emissions. It can fill gaps between public transit options, replace cars for short trips, and supplement larger delivery vehicles in urban neighborhoods. The micro-mobility revolution poses many safety issues; this project seeks to address them by evaluating existing and proposed regulations about the safe deployment of devices like electric scooters, bikes, and velomobiles in a sustainable manner. Furthermore, findings may serve as guidance when designing future urban policies and regulations related to micromobility.
4. Accessibility
Micro-mobility solutions provide flexible and inclusive access for people of various abilities, learning styles, and devices. These micro-mobility options are particularly suited to shorter journeys that complement larger delivery vehicles. Women who frequently find themselves walking alone at night with keys clenched tightly can use a dockless e-bike or e-scooter as an efficient door-to-door transport option. Micromobility offers cities an alternative mode of transit and replacement car trips for short trips; connecting residents to their destinations; providing safe and accessible infrastructure – and can make cities more livable for everyone.
5. Community Engagement
We’ve all witnessed images of cars filling every inch of street space and gridlocked streets that make life unbearable for pedestrians suffocated in exhaust, or cyclists without lanes to call their own. Sharing micro-vehicles promises an easier, faster, less polluting way of traveling while simultaneously reducing congestion and carbon emissions. But to get people on board with e-micro mobility requires an effective community engagement strategy. Communities require educational outreach programs and vehicles with adequate space, programs to encourage helmet use, safety training, and more. Our Maptionnaire Community Engagement Platform facilitates all stages of involvement – preparatory planning through decision-making participation.
6. Mobility as a Service
Navigating the city without your vehicle can be costly; with car loans, insurance premiums, maintenance costs, and fuel consumption all adding up quickly. MaaS is designed to mitigate these expenses and decrease your carbon footprint by making transportation more accessible and affordable. MaaS provides people with more transportation options and last-mile delivery solutions, reduces traffic congestion, increases public transit usage, and creates a more sustainable city. But how can micromobility become more accessible? By understanding your target market. Spending time getting to know them helps create narratives that resonate with customers.
7. Last-Mile Delivery
Logistics companies require fast and efficient deliveries in order to satisfy consumer expectations. Traditional vehicles like cars, vans, and trucks create traffic congestion while contributing to air pollution in urban environments; alternative micromobility solutions such as e-bikes and e-scooters may help alleviate these problems. An efficient method has been devised and applied in Trani (Southern Italy) for identifying private car trips compatible with micro-mobility, providing an initial estimation of how much of a working-day trip can be replaced or at least altered to use micro-mobility instead of private cars.
8. Congestion Reduction
Anyone who has experienced traffic can understand its frustration. Congestion saps time that could otherwise be spent with family and friends, working on hobbies, volunteering for good causes or simply resting up for more productive days ahead. Micro-mobility offers a solution to traffic congestion by offering riders alternatives to travel by car while helping riders avoid areas prone to gridlock. Shared e-scooters in particular have shown tremendous promise as an efficient means of alleviating congestion. Micro-mobility options can also be more energy-efficient than cars when riding in dedicated lanes, and are usually cheaper to own and maintain – making them more accessible for individuals while being an effective economic sustainability strategy.
9. Social Impact
Many people associate micro-mobility with kick e-scooters or “hoverboards”, but its definition includes much broader transportation devices ranging from bicycles and skateboards to rideshare bikes and ridesharing services. City leaders must understand who uses these devices, why, and their motivators to effectively implement these policies in their cities. Current urban environments tend to favor private cars over pedestrians and cyclists, leaving the latter exposed to exhaust fumes while pedestrians face exhaust choking them and cyclists without lanes for themselves. Micromobility could create space for all. Unfortunately, though, inconsistent regulations and negative perceptions could stymie this mode of transportation’s growth.