Take Charge
Will e-scooters help create the future of mobility?
In just two years, more than 100 cities all over the world have experienced the global phenomenon of micro-mobility: the introduction of dockless, shared e-scooter services. Market leaders Bird and Lime have seen the fastest rise in market value of any technology company in existence, and both continue to grow. In a Barclays report, micro-mobility is estimated to become an $800 billion market by the mid-2020s.
Dockless e-scooters run on efficient electric motors and are easy to locate, operate, and return. For many, they are indubitably the fastest and most convenient option for getting around congested areas. Plus, shared e-scooters are fun and ecologically cleaner than cars. While it’s gratifying to see riders adopting e-scooters at a steady pace, there are still very few regulations regarding where they can go, drunk riding, wearing helmets and using turn signals, as well as a general lack of consensus on rider etiquette. Some cities have placed temporary bans on e-scooters until appropriate regulations can come into place.
Today, nearly half of all urban trips are short-range, and 70% of those trips are made by car, so cities are starting to change regulations and infrastructure (such as doubling the width of sidewalks and adding more micro-mobility lanes) to adjust to new modes of transportation. If e-scooter service companies can find efficient ways to address concerns over safety and maintenance, they will continue to accelerate their growth and reshape mass transit.