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

theguardian.com

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

#31

Post by algaeontoast »

logifail wrote: post #5
algaeontoast wrote: post #4

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.

Unless you want to show up to work a sweaty mess. I have a bike I ride for exercise as well, but commuting really only makes sense on an electric scoot / EUC.

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

#33

Post by mc32 »

skummetmaelk wrote: post #10
cameldrv wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There’ve been some studies that align with the statement by OP [1]. Looks like lifecycle of the studied fleet was under 200 miles and fewer than 30 days. People really mistreat them and beat them up.

[1]https://qz.com/1561654/how-long-does-a-scooter-last-less-tha...

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

#36

Post by Retric »

megaremote wrote: post #25

Still 1000x better than cars, and anything that gets people out of their cars is great.

Expect you many need to literally manufacture 1,500x as many scooters. ‘The average vehicle went 163.2 miles over 92 trips during its lifetime’ https://qz.com/1561654/how-long-does-a-scooter-last-less-tha...

So, odd as it may seem, electric cars may be better for the environment.

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

#37

Post by dahfizz »

polskibus wrote: post #9
cameldrv wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

https://qz.com/1561654/how-long-does-a-scooter-last-less-tha...

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

#38

Post by aussiegreenie »

skummetmaelk wrote: post #10
cameldrv wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Most rental electric scooters are VERY abused.

One Chinese bike rental company lost its entire fleet in about a week, 10,000 bikes lost in less than 10 days.

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

#39

Post by gamblor956 »

sebringj wrote: post #29

Cars/bikes etc don't have carbon footprints to manufacture? This is an idiotic comparison.

Unless you're buying some really crappy cars or bikes, they generally last for several years or decades, compared to the estimated month-6 months lifespan of e-scooters. (Bird has newer scooters coming out that are supposed to last almost a year. Almost a year. For an average of 3 rides a day.)

When you're arguing that your mode of transport is green but it only lasts a few weeks with relatively sparse usage, then the manufacturing carbon footprint is absolutely relevant. When the mode of transport lasts for decades and the manufacturing footprint is spread out amongst millions of others vehicles, the manufacturing footprint isn't very relevant.

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

#40

Post by lvturner »

alistairSH wrote: post #22
nickserv wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're also useful for 'last km' transport, like getting to and from the train station. The smaller ones can also be taken on the bus or subway.

Do you know of any smaller/lighter e-scooters that are easily hand carried and durable? The typical Bird/Lime look a bit heavy for carrying into an office or up to an apartment. I've searched online, but most look like sketchy Chinese stuff, so I'm a bit concerned about longevity and parts availability.

My wife and I just bought the xiaomi/ninebot one, they are around 15kg but fold down fairly nicely, I won't lie and say it's ideal, but it wasn't much of a challenge getting them in and out of our apartment (which, being in HK is tiny:))
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