Micromobility and shared mobility

Shared mobility is a transformative breed of travel alternatives to conventional cars and public transport aiming to maximise the utilisation levels of our finite mobility resources by disengaging their usage from ownership-bound limitations. Shared mobility schemes like car-sharing, ride-sharing, bike-sharing, scooter-sharing (or a mix of them with other modes typically described as mobility hubs) provide vehicle fleets that can be accessed and ridden by their subscribers on an as-needed basis typically for a modest fee directly associated with usage criteria or in a subscription basis. The Holy Grail of these systems is the ‘still in embryonic form’ Mobility-as-a-Service; a digital app-enabled transport eco-system that may be a genuine game-changer for travel behaviour in theory at least. Micromobility on the other hand, refers to low-speed, short-distance transportation provided by lightweight, usually single-person vehicles such as bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, e-scooters, powered self-balancing boards and skateboards. This is a flexible, congestion-reducing, tech-celebrating family of modes that represent a relatively low-cost (but possibly low-economic return) investment in travel behavioural change. Micromobility typically has two complementing elements: the use of battery-powered electricity and its integration with shared mobility schemes. The latter link makes this twin presentation of shared mobility and micromobility the most effective way to describe them both. This chapter elaborates on the diverse dimensions of these two mobility interventions identifying and contextualising their respective potential (and limitations) to support a transition to a more sustainable transport paradigm.