City Lab:
Call them Little Vehicles—not just bikes and scooters, but e-bikes, velomobiles, motorized skateboards, unicycles, “hoverboards,” and other small, battery-powered low-speed not-a-cars. Nearly all of them look silly, but if cities take them seriously, they could be a really, really big deal. Little Vehicles could significantly erode private car and ride-hail use, and play a key role in helping cities achieve their as of now unattainable environmental and road safety goals.
Great piece on the inevitable rise of “Little Vehicles”. Many city residents would be much better served by various combinations of LVs, especially if cities are redesigned away from cars.
I bought my sweetie a nice Stromer ebike for her birthday. She loves it and now all her friends are looking at buying one. I am saving up for mine.
Beyond all the technical reasons for owning one, the fact is that these little electric vehicles are fun. Like, way more than you’d expect. That’s why they are being adopted so quickly.
This will go down the same path as hype about the Segway. Yes, transportation as we know it is dying, but the future is not “Little Vehicles”.
The Segway was fundamentally flawed in a number of ways. The new crop of small e-vehicles has huge advantages over car travel, over walking, and over traditional small-vehicle options in any high-density setting, pretty much regardless of weather. They’re just getting started, and I guarantee they will be a major factor in our future.
One major variable is infrastructure adaptation. Those locales that adapt effectively will quickly become more attractive to live in, giving themselves huge future economic advantages.