Why Micromobility Matters: Making Mincemeat of the Car Obsession

Micromobility pioneer Oliver Bruce will delve deep into why micromobility matters … and why escalating fuel prices, traffic congestion and looming emission reduction deadlines are making micromobility an increasingly important solution.

The NZ native, with a global presence in the industry, says micromobility is flourishing in urban centres around the world because they offer superior fit for purpose. The proliferation of e-mobility devices – from scooters, to e-bikes to light electric vehicles and all the variations in between – are giving people greater options to choose a mode of transport better scaled to the length and nature of their journey.

Sales of e-mobility devices are soaring as people see an equally convenient alternative to the car paradigm of paying $20,000 and beyond for the option to take, on average, 5,000 trips whenever you want.  Transport is the third largest expense for the average household because people are fixated on cars for transportation, even though 70% of journeys are less than 8km.

He says people are waking up to the existence of zero-emission, low-cost personal transport alternatives that, in many cases, can get them door-to-door even faster than a car.

That convenience and cost saving is even more pronounced as more and more commuters embrace mobility as a service (MaaS), enabling people to pay for vehicles only as they need them and to choose an option perfectly fit for purpose.

It’s a transport succession Oliver compares to the rise of the automobile in the 1920s, which rendered horses largely obsolete, created a supply of cheap horse meat and led to the advent of canned dog food!

Olive's message for officials around the world has been clear and consistent for years: cities that provide the right infrastructure and effectively integrate last-mile e-mobility with public transport services will reap massive transport and social benefits from micromobility.

His forecasts of the shift towards micromobility are increasingly salient as the quest to cut emissions amplifies, fossil fuel costs skyrocket and the challenges of increasing electric car supplies become glaringly apparent.