Electric bikes and scooters: self-service, not that ecological!

Even if electric bicycles and scooters do not emit polluting gases, they still have an unexpected impact on the environment. At issue: self-service.

Three Swiss researchers have studied the behavior of users of micro-mobility services and their impact on the environment. Following their study, scientists were forced to realize that self-service is ultimately not as green as we might think.

Is self-service polluting?

A study has just been published in the prestigious journal Elsevier. This aims to integrate micro-mobility services into transport network simulations. Surprisingly, researchers have found that electric bicycles and scooters for personal use emit less CO₂ than standard means of transport, while those available in self-service are much more polluting and can even exceed conventional means of transport.

A shared electric scooter model emits around 106g of CO₂/ km, in front of public transport which generates 72 g of CO₂/ km. However, the average emission of a personal electric scooter is much lower. This amounts to 42 g of CO₂/ km.

To go further, the impact of self-service electric scooters and bicycles on the environment is also linked to their manufacture, since some models contain lithium batteries and other polluting materials. As the collection and reloading of machines is usually done in the four corners of a city, moreover through the use of cars, this also contributes to the generation of pollution. Finally, the delivery of these means of transport also has something to do with it since most of them come from China.

A clear finding!

The contributions of this study question the ecological side of the entire process of using shared electric bikes and scooters. Indeed, the figures show that sharing self-service modes of transport is not systematically synonymous with ecological gesture.

Although self-service is increasing greenhouse gas emissions for the time being, it could lead to a more sustainable transition in the long term by encouraging users of these platforms to purchase their own electric bicycle, scooter or scooter. . Resulting, in fact, a less important environmental impact.

Source: Science Direct