micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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Something I think you may not be considering is availability of funds for lower-income folks - it's easy for us to say "why not just pay $70/month instead of paying $12/day", but... what if they literally don't have $70? What if they don't qualify for the payment plan because of bad/no credit? Let us not forget the story of Samuel Vimes and his 'Boots' Theory of Socio-economic Unfairness.
How are they paying for the rentals? Some would be easily spending more than $70, so it kind of begs the question: how are any of these people able to afford the rentals? Buying would be cheaper!
The saying "it's expensive to be poor" certainly rings true here. I'm not really suggesting that those folks finance an e-scooter, since that would imply they have the financial means and credit rating to.
But it would be more cost-effective and provide a greater benefit for that state or local government to cover the cost of owning e-mobility devices, since these are really only going to a small percent of their total population.
And in my example, $70 was for a brand name, high-end of the <$1000 e-scooters. You can get a different model for half that amount, which would be like three days of renting one of those bikes, and you'd still end up saving money in the end. It's like spend a dollar and save 10!
But I do get what you're saying. I'm hoping these people can afford whatever allows them the mobility they need in their lives (plus, riding an e-bike will improve other aspects of their mental/physical health, too).
I think we're both on the same page - I would love if there were similar federal programs for low-income people to get scooters/e-bikes just like we have for cell phones right now, since it's kind of required to get to work in most metropolitan areas and most cities don't have good transit options.
All I was saying before is that if they straight up never have more than $50 to their name, they're going to pay $7 a day as opposed to $30 a week, which would be more cost effective.
For sure on the same page overall.
We can agree to disagree on what's easier to afford (higher monthly vs lower daily), but I would absolutely love to see better programs to make micromobility more accessible to low-income families and individuals.
It's not like giving someone a car (re: cost, both ongoing and up front), so I think governments should explore this.
And hell, while they are at it, expand on incentive programs for everyone who wants to replace their car with a bike, e-bike, e-scooter, or anything else. It'll save taxpayers a ton of money in the long-term.