There is no question that truck, delivery and private car traffic is pushing cities to the brink of their capacity. Parking spaces are lacking, streets are overcrowded, residents complain about dirt, noise and the endangerment of children. What do e-scooters and e-bikes bring to the emissions of urban transport systems?
The use of micromobility services has increased in recent years, especially in cities. The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI conducted a study on behalf of the provider Lime. It is based on case studies from six cities - Berlin, Düsseldorf, Paris, Stockholm, Melbourne and Seattle.
CO2 emissions from the global mobility and transport sector rose by eight percent last year, although they actually have to fall by 20 percent by 2030 to meet international climate targets. With the Climate Protection Act 2021, Germany has even committed to reducing emissions in transport by 48 percent by 2030.
A wide range of measures are needed to achieve these extremely ambitious goals - including the rapid electrification of vehicles, the expansion of public transport and better networking of different modes of transport. In recent years, new forms of shared micromobility have emerged, especially in cities, complementing existing services and promising to reduce the carbon footprint of urban transport in the process.
The results of the study show that the latest generation of shared e-scooters and e-bikes are capable of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions in the cities studied.
The largest effects of shared e-scooters were observed in Melbourne and Seattle, which can be explained by a much higher CO2 intensity of electricity used for public transport and electric cars there compared to European cities. But Düsseldorf, Paris and Stockholm also show effects on emissions. In Berlin, on the other hand, weaker reductions can be shown. In all six cities, the greenhouse gas savings of shared e-bikes are lower than those of shared e-scooters.
(Photo: © Surprising Shots Mircea, Pixabay)
