Bench Talk

Micromobility Blog Series: Part 1 of 4

Source: Iryna/stock.adobe.com

Over the past decade, micromobility solutions have seen incredible consumer and commercial success. In cities, micromobility vehicles such as electric scooters (e-scooters) and electric bicycles (e-bikes) have helped ease the ever-increasing demands on public transport and provided new means for distribution and delivery services. Additionally, e-bikes have reduced barriers to ridership, enabling people of a range of abilities to ride more regularly for exercise, travel, and errands.

With this success have come new technical and social challenges, which, in some cases, have dented public confidence and market growth. Poorly adapted legislation has failed to control the risks of micromobility and has prevented it from realizing its ultimate potential. In addition, supply chain issues and low-quality products failing during operation are impacting the market. While there is considerable potential for micromobility, key issues need to be resolved if the market is to continue to grow and provide a positive impact.

In this blog series, we will analyze the current market landscape, trends, and emerging technical and legislative issues. We will also explore the technology set to resolve existing challenges and increase growth across this key market.

1. Introduction
2. Urban Infrastructure and Micromobility
3. Personal Transportation and Consumer Challenges
4. How Technology Will Shape the Future

What Is Micromobility?

Micromobility is an umbrella term first coined by renowned industry analyst Horace Dediu in 2017. It refers to single- or two-person transportation with a top speed of 15mph (25kph), designed for short journeys. Historically, micromobility solutions have been either human-powered or powered by small internal combustion engines (ICEs). The recent evolution of battery technology has led to a rapid expansion in the market as a fresh wave of electric-powered or electric-assisted transportation has appeared. These innovations are often referred to as light electric vehicles (LEVs).

LEVs encompass everything from e-scooters, e-bikes, and pedelecs to larger vehicles such as electric motorcycles to small electric vehicles (EVs) with up to 15kW of power and a mass of less than 400kg (or 550kg for cargo vehicles). The European Union (EU) has classified LEVs into seven categories (L1e–L7e) based on size, number of wheels, and use (Figure 1).

Figure 1: EU classifications of the seven types of light electric vehicles, personal transport (e-bikes and e-scooters), and motor vehicles. (Source: Mouser Electronics based on original artwork by ROSPA^[1])

Within these categories is scope for the development of not just ubiquitous solutions such as e-scooters and e-bikes, but also new micromobility solutions like smaller and more nimble electric delivery vehicles, autonomous taxis, and e-cargo bikes.

Market Growth and Personal Transportation

The market for micromobility has experienced steady growth over the past decade, receiving a significant boost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personal transportation options such as e-scooters and e-bikes served as alternative modes of transport for many individuals, particularly those seeking to avoid crowded bus and train lines.

While this sudden growth may have tempered in some areas, market analysts Precedence Research still predicts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 percent between 2023 and 2032 for the combined e-scooter, electric skateboard, and e-bike market.^[2]

Factors that will drive this growth include greater city adaptation for micromobility transportation, easier or more diverse ownership options, and micromobility vehicles' ability to provide an alternative to often strained public transportation or road networks.

Commercial Applications

Micromobility is also presenting several new opportunities for commercial applications, including rental bike and scooter sharing, as well as delivery solutions. In busy cities, the "last mile" or final leg of the delivery can often be the most challenging. Providing fast and reliable delivery services using busy road networks can limit the ability of vehicle-based deliveries. At the same time, the number of addresses within densely populated cities can make it near impossible to complete the task on foot.

The “last mile” has long been dominated by micromobility solutions, dating back to at least WWI, when couriers on ICE-powered motorcycles would quickly deliver messages between military units. Motorcycle couriers have since become commonplace, providing rapid fulfillment and distribution of everything from food and parcels to emergency blood supplies.

But this market is seeing a dramatic shift with two major areas of development. The first development is the electrification of existing solutions, with e-bikes, e-scooters, e-cargo bikes, electric mopeds, and motorbikes replacing ICE-powered solutions.

While this change aligns with many cities’ aims to reduce emissions, e-bike and e-scooter deliveries can also increase operational efficiency. This allows for closer final delivery in areas unreachable by road through the use of bike paths, public footpaths, and other public transportation.

The second development is the propagation of new custom LEVs (Figure 2). These solutions employ customer vehicle design and control electronics to meet the demands of a specific application and can include fully autonomous solutions.

Figure 2: Custom LEVs like this delivery LEV may increase adoption of micromobility technologies. (Source: Jarama/stock.adobe.com)

For example, in Nordic countries, PostNord has already deployed over 5,000 LEVs, including custom designs such as one developed by Garia Utility Vehicles.^[3] This vehicle allows for closer inner-city delivery and the use of public footpaths, thanks to its small size, high maneuverability, and quiet electric drivetrain.

Conclusion

In upcoming blogs in this series, we will dive further into the topics from this introduction, examining the world of micromobility. In the next blog, we explore the role of micromobility solutions within urban infrastructure, why cities want micromobility to succeed but are struggling to get the balance right, and what cities are doing to help understand the challenges of micromobility.

Sources

[1] ROSPA, “Everything you need to know about Zero emission light powered vehicles.” n.d. https://www.rospa.com/policy/road-safety/advice/vehicles/zero-electric-vehicles.
[2] Precedence Research, “Micro-Mobility Market Size to Hit USD 11.83 Billion by 2032.” October 2023. https://www.precedenceresearch.com/micro-mobility-market.
[3] “Electric Vehicles.” Sustainability, PostNord, August 13, 2020. https://www.postnord.com/sustainability/climate-leadership/electric-vehicles.