With armies of gaudy, primary-coloured e-bikes and e-scooters, the micromobility industry is conquering our towns and cities. The first docked bike-sharing program was launched in Hangzhou, China, in 2008, and similar programs are operating in every region of the world today. Although the industry took a hit during Covid-19 (with giants like Lime and Bird laying off significant numbers of staff) it has since rebounded. McKinsey predicts it could be worth $300-500bn by the end of the decade.
With the world arguably having passed ‘peak car’, micromobility – and especially powered micromobility – has the potential to become the dominant mode of transport in urban environments. There are many possible benefits: not only reduction of traffic congestion and air pollution, but also of greenhouse gas emissions. The CO2 emissions associated with a mile of travel on an e-scooter are around 5 per cent of those from a mile of travel in an electric car, and the emissions...