Health, Mobility and Adventure: The future of urban transportation
Technologically advanced transit choices like electric bikes are transforming the transportation landscape in urban cities.
Photo credit: Solveig Been
As we move through the 21st century, our cities require mobility and transport solutions that are sustainable, affordable and safe. Micro-mobility offers a solution to this problem. E-mobility has become one of the fastest-growing “transportation solutions” as it provides different modes of transportation to make our journey shorter and faster.
Horace Dediu the analyst who coined the term micro-mobility said: “Micro-mobility is the new trend that will disrupt the traditional automobile industry.”
\\ What is micro-mobility?
Micro-mobility falls in the category of lightweight vehicles that are specifically designed for individual use. These vehicles can be:
The goal of micro-mobility is to replace short-distance car trips with these lightweight vehicles for distances between 1km to 15 km to avoid traffic, extend public transport, and to reduce congestion and pollution. In urban areas where there is pollution and gridlocked streets micro-mobility can be the best way to travel.
\\ Why shift to micro-mobility?
It is an eco-friendly mode of transportation because it reduces carbon emissions in urban areas, and is more energy-efficient than cars. According to the research by Wired, 1 kilowatt-hour of energy can only get a gasoline-powered car to travel 1.3 km, electric cars travel up to 6.5 km while an electric scooter can travel 133 km.
Micro-mobility can be a cheaper alternative to owning and running a car. For instance, the cost of buying and maintaining a bike is around 1% of the cost of buying and maintaining a car. 
Micro-mobility can solve the first mile / last mile problem. When using public transport, we need to walk or take a second mode of transport to reach our final destination. Micro-mobility replaces the second mode of transport thereby saving time/energy and providing a fast seamless and sustainable experience.
With Micro-mobility being far more economical as well as environment friendly, it has drawn the attention of government and businesses. Some large technology companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft are now looking for ways to introduce software that supports personal and shared micro-mobility start-ups. Uber is also supporting the process by introducing micro-transport services and doing trails to introduce autonomous e-bikes and scooters.
\\ Challenges to micro-mobility
Despite all the advantages, the micro-mobility industry is facing challenges as well.
In Australia, the rules and regulations for micro-mobility vehicles vary in states/territories which is hindering it’s growth. Lack of uniformity among states/territories in terms of the way the electric bikes and scooters are classified and regulated is making it difficult to scale the implementation of practical micro-mobility schemes across Australia.
For instance, it is legal to ride an electric scooter on footpaths and local streets (up to 25km/h) speed in Queensland; however, the same scooter may not be legal to ride in other states/territories due to a speed limitation or registration requirement. This limits the manufacturers/importers to design and roll out affordable scooters across Australia.
\\ Future of micro-mobility
Despite the challenges, the Micro-mobility industry has a bright future ahead. In the coming years, 68% of the world population will be living in cities. As the city population increases, the need and demand for micro-mobility will increase as well.
For instance, Australia recently took a step forward for the micro-mobility industry when the National Transport Commission released recommendations regarding the legalisation of micro-mobile vehicles which will make electric scooters legal to ride all across Australia.
Smart Cities and workplaces will provide numerous opportunities for the micro-mobility industry to grow. Well defined infrastructures for the micro-mobility industry will facilitate the concept and further enhance this mode of transportation.
To sum it up, the fast-approaching urban transportation crisis along with rising traffic, congestion, crowded public transport and rising pollution are causing a paradigm shift in favour of electric mobility vehicles such as E-bike and scooters at a rapid speed. It is just a matter of time until e-mobility vehicles will be a necessity, and the only viable solution for short distance travels for everyone.
This article is brought to you by Moov8:
Moov8 is Australian owned and operated electric personal mobility vehicle company. We manufacture, import and distribute the next generation of reliable and quality Electric Bikes, Scooters and Trotter MAGWheel made to Australian Standards.
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Learn more about moov8 by visiting https://moov8.com.au/