Por: Rubio Gonzalez
Micromovilidad: A un paso más cerca de una sociedad sostenible
In recent years, growing concerns about environmental and climate change have brought sustainable development into the spotlight. National and international institutions, policy makers, academics and others have increased the attention paid to social and environmental sustainability around the world. From space, we see a small, fragile ball dominated not by human activity and buildings, but by a pattern of clouds, oceans, vegetation and soils. Humanity's inability to fit its activities into that pattern is changing planetary systems. Many of these changes are accompanied by life-threatening hazards.
The goal of building a more urban environment must always be our priority. Micromobility has been the focus of attention in cities around the world due to the boom it has caused, this is an incredible and well-connected experience that allows you to reach your destination reducing noise, time and pollution. This unexpected success and great popularity of micromobility is due to e-scooters, these are growing at an unprecedented speed and more and more millions of users are using them around the world. This begs the question: Could e-scooters help accelerate the transition to sustainable cities?
Although we are still learning how to regulate scooters around the world, a study was done in Paris where it was concluded that scooters are four times more efficient than an e-bike program implemented several years ago and that it only took 6 months to be used by the same amount of people that have used electric bicycles in 2 years. That is why I consider that it has a promising future to drive behavioral change in our society, it is necessary to act in time and target developing cities to adapt these mobility alternatives and begin to change habits.
The reduction of car trips can only be achieved if we look for other smart alternatives that promote sustainable behavior with convenient forms of transportation. Different sustainable mobility plans that aim to implement alternative mobility such as scooters should be put in place.
Alternative mobility
Alternative mobility has traditionally included public transport and cycling, but not micromobility. Different sustainable micro-mobility options need to be included in the definition of alternative mobility, so that this will help cities to effectively reduce transport emissions without affecting accessibility.
All cities today face a challenge which is to reduce pollution and in less time have urban accessibility and quality of life. For cities to become noise and pollution free, not only smart policies are needed, but also a radical change in mobility habits and behavior. This is where the great potential of scooters lies because they are comfortable and serve the purpose of changing the way we move around cities. They also serve as a catalyst towards shared and low-carbon mobility.
Environmental contribution of e-scooters:
We must take advantage of the benefits of e-scooters in cities and invest in micro-mobility infrastructure, innovation, effective policies and responsible companies to help cities achieve their climate goals and improve the quality of life of the population.
Many challenges remain for e-scooters but the unexpected boom around the world shows us that the future of mobility is low-carbon transport that can come faster than we think. Smart sustainable policies are needed to support change rather than delay it.
Autor:
Rubio Nicolas Gonzalez
Consultor Junior de Crecimiento