The market for electric scooters, or e-scooters, is developing faster and faster. In few years their presence extended to over 350 cities, 6 of which in Italy, and the investments that companies in the sector are making are increasingly high. Thanks to the coronavirus, the ferment on electric scooters has undergone a further acceleration in recent months, so much so that the Boston Consulting Group, in the study "How E-Scooters Can Win a Place in Urban Transport" speaks of a potential market of 25-30 billion dollars.
Above all, they contribute to the diffusion of electric scooters traffic and pollution that characterize urban contexts, but also the distrust of citizens about the use of public transport resulting from the fear of contagion. The sum of the various factors, linked to each other, have brought out "the need for an alternative to the private car to get around more and more".
By virtue of what has just been said Boston Consulting Group has studied potential developments of what is defined as “one of the consumption phenomena with the fastest growth in the world but also one of the most controversial”. In fact, there are cities that have decided to limit their use with constraints created above all for coexistence with other means of transport and with pedestrians, while others, on the contrary, have chosen to focus on this form of alternative mobility, also influencing investments and the technical development of e-scooters.
The second generation models are more robust and with a longer life cycle than previous models (doubled from 12 to 24 months of use), as well as featuring new smart elements such as anti-vandal sensors. “The next level of innovation – predicts the BCG – will concern batteries, which will be replaceable in charging stations located in various points of the city where users will be able to exchange them for travel credit, similar to what already happens for refueling cars in car-sharing apps".
Speaking of their diffusion, the report distinguishes four key elements (population density, openness to the use of bicycles, climate, number of young people) on the basis of which they have been identified 750 cities in the USA and Europe suitable for this type of micro-mobility. In the old continent, Copenhagen and Berlin stand out above all, which, according to Boston Consulting, are "more inclined to welcome the growth of the scooter market thanks to their culture and the presence of spaces dedicated to bikes for a long time".
In many other cities, the penetration of e-scooters will depend on the progress that the administrations will be able to make on planning and above all on safety, given that to date 80% of accidents involve cases in which cars or trucks hit scooters and bicycles. The study therefore suggests creating adequate rules and investing in infrastructure, including cycle paths and designated parking spaces. Despite all the difficulties, the Boston Consulting Group has no doubts: “e-scooters are here to stay and, together with the other forms of micro-mobility, they will be the protagonists of the urban mobility of the future”.
