Voi E-scooters are introduced during a trial scheme in Cambridge. Residents and visitors to the city … [+]
A new report has called on e-scooter companies to be more open and transparent about the lifespan and durability of their vehicles.
Researchers from Brightside, a US mobility consulting firm, have published research into the sturdiness and resilience of electric scooters, from their frame to batteries, and have devised a methodology for effectively measuring their lifespan.
The authors of the report said the findings can help companies in the e-scooter sharing space to reduce waste from the hardware of their vehicles, ultimately reducing emissions and contributing to a more sustainable business.
They collaborated with Swedish e-scooter sharing company Voi to analyze its vehicles’ use expectancy, vetting data points on frequency of use, usage patterns, battery life and local conditions in cities that may contribute to wear and tear of the vehicles.
E-scooter sharing companies, like Voi, have faced questions around the long-term life cycle of their vehicles, specifically with concerns around the high turnover of vehicles that are damaged, broken or worn down. Regularly replenishing fleets with more models can contribute to emissions via their manufacture.
This has been a weak link in the arguments made by many e-scooter companies that say their services can contribute to reducing emissions by decreasing reliance on cars.
“In the early days of the industry, a trip on shared electric micromobility was barely more sustainable than a car when total lifecycle was considered,” Pierpaolo Cazzola, an independent consultant that contributed to the report, said. Cazzola was lead author of the OECD’s International Transport Forum report Good to Go?
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Micromobility companies in recent years have touted the durability of their latest models, ensuring that they have a longer lifespan on the streets.
The study, titled How Long Do E-Scooters Last?, has developed a methodology for measuring that durability to test such claims.
It found that shared vehicles are more prone to abuse and vandalism which increases their chances of being decommissioned early.
The authors propose several design recommendations to improve the durability of e-scooters, including a wider diameter on the neck of the vehicles, increased use of modular parts that can be swapped or easily updated, and greater use of GPS technology for tracking the location of a vehicle.
The report also makes the case for more proactive maintenance practices so that vehicles are regularly serviced for long term upkeep.
It urges e-scooter companies to collect more granular data on e-scooter frames and batteries to better inform future design and manufacturing decisions.
Applying the methodology of the report, Voi said that its vehicle model, Voiager 4, released in 2021, has a lifespan of 4.6 years for the frame and 3.7 years for the battery. It claims that this is five times longer than models launched in 2018.
Voi released its latest model, the Voiager 5, in March of this year and according to the company, it has a cycle of five years.
About 50% of Voi’s European fleet of 100,000 e-scooters are the Voiager 4 while 30% are the Voiager 5.
“Voi has set ambitious environmental targets and we’re improving our sustainability data collection,” Sarah Badoux, Voi’s head of sustainability, said. “We are currently working toward a circular supply chain that will reduce waste by 50% by 2025. This report and methodology will help us to better understand and improve vehicle lifespan and be more transparent with our stakeholders.”
The authors said that efforts like these are needed industry-wide across all e-scooter companies to ensure a real impact is felt while companies also need to improve the transparency of data they share with city authorities.
Melinda Hanson, principal at Brightside, said that extending vehicle’s length of use by using this new methodology “is essential for environmental sustainability and for operating a profitable business.”
“While the shared electric scooter industry had some early missteps, I am convinced operators like Voi are on the right track, and hope that cities will take note and do more to support the continued expansion of small electric vehicles,” Chris Cherry, a professor at the University of Tennessee and a co-author of the study, added.
