Greener Micromobility
In 2020, the ITF published “Good to Go? Assessing the Environmental Performance of New Mobility”. In the four years since its publication, the evidence base regarding the environmental impact of micromobility has improved and significant progress has been made to reduce the environmental impact of micromobility.
This report updates the previous study on the basis of newly published evidence, a survey of industry actors and recently published reports.
The report provides recommendations for authorities and micromobility operators to maximise the environmental performance of micromobility.
It draws on a comprehensive lifecycle environmental impact spreadsheet tool containing all calculations, input factors and sources used for this update.
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Read more about the Micromobility: Back to the Future project.
Policy Insights
- Micromobility is becoming greener. Aside from walking, cycling remains the most environmentally friendly way of moving around cities. Electrification has further expanded the distances cyclists can travel Shared micromobility has made significant progress in terms of sustainability as operators have addressed the impacts of their fleets and operations on the environment. Leasing models are particularly attractive from a lifecycle environmental impact perspective.
- Shared fleet vehicle design has reduced lifecycle impacts. The rapid uptake of improved vehicle designs in shared fleets has steeply reduced per-rider-kilometre greenhouse gas emissions. Longer vehicle lifetimes, enabled by more robust design, greater modularity and ease of repair, have driven reductions in impact across the lifecycle.
- Fleet servicing operations have significantly improved. Swappable, higher-capacity batteries have reduced the impact of fleet recharging, enabled the use of less impactful cargo bikes and fostered more efficient fleet servicing models. Improved fleet logistics, including maintenance, repair and re-positioning have contributed to greener operations. Electrification of fleet servicing vans also matters, but to a lesser extent.
| Date of Publication | 19 June 2024 |
|---|---|
| Number of Pages | 24 |
| Document |
 greener-micromobility.pdf |
| Publication Type | Corporate Partnership Board Report |
| Publisher | OECD Publishing, Paris |