Small and light might be the solution for urban traffic
Author: Ardo Reinsalu, CEO of Stigo Ltd
Originally published by LEVA EUROPE
Today, more than 54% of the world’s population lives in cities. According to United Nations projections two-thirds of the world population will live in cities by 2050. This has already created massive problems for urban traffic. Congestions are intensifying worldwide and causing substantial loss of time and deterioration of air quality. While the talk of electric and self-driving cars leads to small improvements, it will not solve the biggest problem of urban travel — the size and weight of cars.
Be smart with your energy, time, and money
For the past 110 years cars have essentially changed very little. We still drive a 1.5 ton car with an average of one and a half person in it. This means that we spend energy to move about 1000 kg of additional weight sending a 70 kg person from point A to B. That means a lot of effort and waste! Instead, let’s imagine we could use a 15 kg vehicle (such as a bicycle, e-bike or scooter) to take the urban traveler to their destination.
We can save 99% of the energy, CO2, and harmful traffic byproducts that would otherwise be emitted into the environment.
Another factor is also the size of the car — it eats up space on roads and requires 300 square feet parking lots. 300 square feet can hold 10–20 bicycles or a studio sized flat. And you need a lot of these lots — one at home, one at work, in the shopping mall, close to your kids’ school, etc. Shouldn’t we put all of this land into better use?
Commuters in the TOP10 most congested cities spend 60–102 hours sitting in traffic jams every year. Inrix reports that “Americans will waste $2.8 trillion on traffic by 2030”. The wasted time is unimaginably huge. We should constantly be looking for lightweight, personal transportation alternatives to reduce that number.
The time spent in traffic actually costs quite a lot — all the work we could do, all the entertainment we could enjoy, all the relationships we could build.
Research also shows the correlation between stress and commuting time. It is interesting to note that by shortening travel time in cities, we would actually need less space for infrastructure because people would occupy streets for shorter periods.
Making room for smaller, lightweight alternatives
So, we need to get vehicles smaller, lighter and off the congested roads. Are bikes the solution? Yes and no. Luckily, we are seeing tremendous growth in bicycle commuting but there are several reasons why it will never be an option for many urban travelers. Riding a bicycle requires skill that some people don’t have. The fear of falling is especially strong (and rightly so) among people in their 50s and 60s.
Let’s not forget that a standard bicycle also requires space for parking and storage. Many people would love to use a bicycle but they have nowhere to store it in their small flat or high-rise office building. Additionally, the reason why bicycle sales in bike-friendly countries are stalling and e-bikes are taking off — people don’t want to sweat during their daily commute. Nobody wants to arrive to the office or business meeting with sweaty armpits. Electric bikes might be an answer but in addition to storage space they also need expensive charging infrastructure. The solution to urban travel is diversity.
One-size-fits-all is no longer an answer — we should be making room in our crowded cities for different kinds of vehicles.
Current legislation roughly only recognizes cars, bicycles, and motorcycles. What about last mile vehicles like small electric scooters, hover boards, electric unicycles, skateboards or even wheeled sneakers? They most certainly allow for faster travel, they use existing roads, they can be taken indoors for storage and charging and they require only 1% of the energy to transport a person compared to a car.
Unfortunately, as often happens with new technology, our legal system is not ready for alternative vehicles.
Most countries and cities today have 2 different two-wheeler categories: bicycles and non-pedaled vehicles like scooters or motorcycles. Bicycles and electric bicycles (max 25 km/h speed) enjoy complete support from the government and infrastructure. Bikes don’t require any license to operate, no registration, no Department of Transportation certification, no compulsory insurance. Bicycles are allowed on bicycles lanes and public roads.
Then, there are older scooter models and motorcycles that weigh 100 kg and can travel 45 to 100+ km/h. These require a compulsory license, registration and certification requirements because they are more dangerous to drive and present more danger to others. However, there are typically no categories for last mile vehicles, so they either fall under extremely strict motorcycle laws or they can be used on off road mode only.
While we can ride a 15 kg bicycle easily above 25 km/h, we are not allowed to use a 10 kg max 20 km/h electric scooter without all the registration, signal lights, license and other heavy requirements.
Such vehicles are banned from both public roads as well as bicycle lanes. If we don’t open up our cities to new and often safer technologies, we’ll end up spending more time and money on existing conventional means of transport.
Clean up the mess with legislation
Here’s an idea. There’s a lot of “wild west” kind of driving today. Many hover board users travel at 30km/h on pavements, electric scooters use bicycle lanes and even traffic officers are not sure which vehicle is allowed where. Let’s acknowledge that these new vehicles have come to stay and add value to our lives.
Instead of sticking to old scooter and moped laws, let’s regulate the use of light and low-speed vehicles (like Denmark and Sweden have done). When the vehicle’s maximum speed is 20–25 km/h and it weighs less than 20 kg, it should have a similar legal position as a bicycle. When a vehicle’s maximum speed is 6 km/h (or more, depending on a country), it should be equal to a powered wheelchair and allowed onto pavements. Once these rules are clear, we will see new hover boards, scooters and other last mile vehicles emerging with already built-in speed limits. This not only makes travel easier, it will also eliminate the non-legal use of similar technology that we face today.
The task is simple.
We need to become more open to more diverse transportation solutions that will fit in with already existing infrastructure. Lighter and smaller vehicles save time, money and environment. The funny thing is that the only obstacle today is the legislation written for 110 year old vehicles. Let the past stay in the past and let’s move forward!
