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Electric scooters aren't as eco-friendly as they seem, study finds

theguardian.com

1–10 of 47 posts

Re: Electric scooters aren't as eco-friendly as they seem, study finds

#2
"...traveling by scooter produces more greenhouse gas emissions per mile than traveling by bus, bicycle, moped or on foot"

I can't find the source study - but even so I'd have to see some caveats on bus + moped (2 cycle are brutal pollution wise).

I know there's a lot of hate for e-scooters, but I really like them. They're a nice transportation option that supplants taking uber/lyft in many cases and definitely an improvement over cars.

Re: Electric scooters aren't as eco-friendly as they seem, study finds

#3

"...traveling by scooter produces more greenhouse gas emissions per mile than traveling by bus, bicycle, moped or on foot" I can't find the source study - but even so I'd have to see some caveats on bus + moped (2 cycle are brutal pollution wise). I know there's a lot of hate for e-scooters, but I really like them. They're a nice transportation option that supplants taking uber/lyft in many cases and definitely an im…

It looks like the study is linked? https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab2da8

Also, it includes the scooter company driving around at the end of the day to pick up all the scooters. Obviously not applicable if you are using your own personal scooter.

Re: Electric scooters aren't as eco-friendly as they seem, study finds

#5

Just buy your own e-scooter or electric unicycle. Solves most of these issues and takes stress off of existing public transit (not to mention personal electric transit is almost always faster than public transit during rush-hour).

> Just buy your own e-scooter or electric unicycle

...or stick with either a (kick) scooter or standard bicycle? Definitely better for the environment and almost certainly better for your health, too.

Re: Electric scooters aren't as eco-friendly as they seem, study finds

#7
post #6

"the materials it took to manufacture the frame, wheels and battery" How is this worse than a moped? Silly article.

The scooters have very poor durability. They're lasting on the order of 100-200 miles in rental fleets. The study actually underestimates this effect and assumes that they last about 5x longer than they empirically do. Bird and the scooter manufacturers are trying to address this by making beefier scooters that don't fold with bigger batteries, but the abuse they take in a dockless rental fleet and from having such small wheels make durability a big challenge.

A moped typically lasts 10,000-100,000 miles, so even though it's much heavier, the energy and cost are amortized over a far longer period.

Re: Electric scooters aren't as eco-friendly as they seem, study finds

#8
post #5

Just buy your own e-scooter or electric unicycle. Solves most of these issues and takes stress off of existing public transit (not to mention personal electric transit is almost always faster than public transit during rush-hour).

> Just buy your own e-scooter or electric unicycle ...or stick with either a (kick) scooter or standard bicycle? Definitely better for the environment and almost certainly better for your health, too.

works if you have a shower and a change of clothes at work and soap and towel etc. its a logistical nightmare. i have both but bicycle is mostly a recreational vehicle

Re: Electric scooters aren't as eco-friendly as they seem, study finds

#9
post #7
post #6

"the materials it took to manufacture the frame, wheels and battery" How is this worse than a moped? Silly article.

The scooters have very poor durability. They're lasting on the order of 100-200 miles in rental fleets. The study actually underestimates this effect and assumes that they last about 5x longer than they empirically do. Bird and the scooter manufacturers are trying to address this by making beefier scooters that don't fold with bigger batteries, but the abuse they take in a dockless rental fleet and from having such s…

That is very interesting. Do you have a reference on the 100-200miles lifespan?

Re: Electric scooters aren't as eco-friendly as they seem, study finds

#10
post #7
post #6

"the materials it took to manufacture the frame, wheels and battery" How is this worse than a moped? Silly article.

The scooters have very poor durability. They're lasting on the order of 100-200 miles in rental fleets. The study actually underestimates this effect and assumes that they last about 5x longer than they empirically do. Bird and the scooter manufacturers are trying to address this by making beefier scooters that don't fold with bigger batteries, but the abuse they take in a dockless rental fleet and from having such s…

There is no way the average lifespan is only 100-200 miles. That would make the cost per mile 2-3 dollars which is completely unrealistic.
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