What Is the Future of Shared Micro-Mobility?

Climate change has never been more topical than it is today. With growing pressure to make serious changes, country leaders and city governments are looking for alternative methods to minimize the effects of climate change. In November 2022, the Shared Mobility 2030 Action Agenda was announced and includes over 50 public, private, and nonprofit organizations through which an initiative is being launched to advance shared mobility.

The agenda details a to-do list for shared mobility providers and offers a more developed method of cleaner and more affordable transportation that includes ride sharing and micro-mobility. One of the most significant tasks that service providers should tackle first is developing stronger infrastructure and systems to offer more efficient transportation to the public.

Specifically, micro-mobility is transportation that uses shared electric scooters, push bikes, and e-bikes. Though the initiative encourages the use of shared mobility as a whole, micro-mobility is becoming more popular globally, with shared-mobility e-vehicles being used in many major cities across the globe. The evolution of shared micro-mobility over the years has evolved to combine both hybrid and “drop and go” infrastructures.

Developing better infrastructure also includes using the most efficient technologies to improve services being offered. Better services will improve visibility to end users, meaning that a wider audience could be reached. If marketed correctly, this will enable more users to take advantage of the shared services. This is the ultimate aim for both the agenda and the service providers: maximizing the use of shared mobility and minimizing the use of vehicles that are not beneficial for climate goals.

Besides the goal of minimizing climate damage from the overuse of cars and larger vehicles, another aim is to offer a smooth transition to a more accessible and equitably shared transportation market. The use of shared micro-mobility vehicles has increased over the years, with newer vehicles being introduced to the market. The micro-mobility market originally started with push pedal bikes and has since evolved to include e-bikes and electric scooters. This is not the only evolution that has taken placed since this phenomenon has grown to massive numbers in China. The infrastructure where the vehicles are kept and located has also evolved, changing from the original dockless infrastructure that was originally being used and that caused significant annoyance for users and those members of the public who didn’t use the system.

With the rapid growth of the global market, countries have started changing their laws and regulations to enable different forms of micro-mobility used in public for a greener method of transport. The United Kingdom has adapted their laws so that shared e-scooters can be used. This legal change has been a pivotal move for service providers as the law states that the use of privately owned e-scooters is not prohibited on public land—meaning that shared service providers can create equitable business plans for market penetration.

Due to climate change and its future impact on Earth’s climate, the micro-mobility market is poised for growth.