HOW LONG DO E-SCOOTERS LAST?

CHALLENGE

Hundreds of cities across the globe have welcomed shared electric micromobility, including e-scooters and e-bikes, as an effective tool to close the last-mile gap and serve short urban trips. Research demonstrates that micromobility is a good option for up to 60% of urban journeys. Despite this promise, the sustainability benefits of e-scooters have been questioned due to reports about short vehicle lifespan in the industry’s early days, when micromobility operators used off-the-shelf models. Though the industry has since introduced commercial-grade e-scooters, there has not been a standard methodology for assessing fleet average lifespan, a key input for lifecycle assessments (LCA)—the standard approach for determining the relative sustainability of transport modes.

APPROACH

E-scooter company Voi commissioned Brightside to develop the first comprehensive report on the lifespan of shared electric micromobility. The report uses Voi’s data to assess the average lifespan of e-scooters and proposes a methodology to measure how long the vehicles last, a key metric for assessing sustainability. The report also calls for increased transparency in sustainability reporting across the micromobility industry.