From Scooters to Microtransit, Cities Are Embracing Alternatives to Short Car Trips

Almost 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050. Finding a way for people to get around those cities while tackling emissions presents a conundrum: Transportation accounts for a third of greenhouse gas emissions in cities and public transport is integral to achieving decarbonization goals. So far, more than 700 metros worldwide have committed to halving their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to comply with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But getting people from their homes to buses, light rails or other public transport can be a challenge.

While mass public transit in cities is excellent for carrying commuters across long distances, it doesn’t always begin or end where commuters need it to. Getting to the bus or metro stop from home and to work can be a challenge, potentially discouraging using public transit in the first place. In the U.S., the maximum distance most people will walk to get to public transit is around ¼ mile. Micromobility—shared scooters, bikes, and other forms of shared individual vehicles—is one way to  bridge this gap, reducing traffic and congestion, and decreasing carbon emissions at the same time. Around two-thirds of shared mobility riders reported that they used shared micromobility to connect to transit. According to the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association, in 2022, shared micromobility offset approximately 74 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions by replacing auto trips across North America. 

“To the degree that it is replacing trips that would otherwise be taken with a car, micromobility has a big climate impact,” says Colin Murphy, director of research and consulting at the nonprofit Shared-Use Mobility Center.  More than half of all trips in the U.S. by car are less than three miles, the sweet spot that most riders are able to comfortably cover with things like shared scooters or bikes. If some of these can be substituted with lower-emitting forms of transport, it can help cities lower their carbon emissions, he adds.

Already, more than 400 cities across the U.S. have. Cities like Oswego, N.Y. and Nashville, TN,  have partnered with Bird, an e-scooter ride-sharing company to reduce the amount of passenger cars in city centers. Bird Rides estimates introducing e-scooters to Oswego could remove 112,500 lbs, or 56 tons, of carbon dioxide annually by using these scooters rather than alternative transportation. Improving access to micromobility initiatives has also had an added benefit of also reducing environmental hazards like air pollution and increasing safety by having less cars on the road. When planned with equity in mind, it can increase access to public transit in underserved communities.

“Micromobility can help create new connections and it can improve existing connections. It is one tool in the toolbox, but it depends on an environment where there is robust public transit,” he adds.

Better and adaptive infrastructure, such as dedicated bike lanes, and parking areas, are key for making micromobility more accessible. But for people who can’t use scooters and e-bikes because of disability, age, or distance, other shared mobility strategies have also been explored to reduce the use of personal vehicles.

Earlier this year, Via, which provides digital infrastructure for public transportation, partnered with Jersey City to create an on-demand app-based public ride-share service. Via Jersey City uses TransitTech software from Via to match multiple riders headed in the same direction into one shared minivan at $2 per ride. Trips are free to and from the newly-reopened Port Liberte Ferry terminal. Via estimates that almost 6 million miles of driving have been avoided since 2020.

In Lake Tahoe, where cars are heavily used, transportation has one of the largest impacts on the environment causing congestion, carbon emissions, and runoff that pollutes the blue waters of Lake Tahoe. To combat this, the League to Save Lake Tahoe has worked since 2018 to bring microtransit solutions to the area. Now three microtransit systems are in operation in Lake Tahoe: Mountaineer in Olympic Valley, Tart Connect in the North Shore, and Lake Link in the South Shore. Using a curb-to-curb system, riders can request free rides via an app and the algorithm will match them with a shared van.

“It’s not a standalone system. The vision is that it helps solve that first and last mile and feeds people into the traditional fixed-route system,” says Gavin Feiger, policy director at the League to Save Lake Tahoe. Since launching Lake Link in 2022, the group estimates that they have taken over 111,000 cars off the road, reducing emissions from over 200,000 car miles driven.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe has also worked with Lime to bring bikes and scooters to South Lake Tahoe, which has been equally successful. In 2020, more than 60,000 people took over 200,000 rides on just the e-scooters alone, saving around 186,000 vehicle miles traveled, the organization estimates.

These kinds of shared mobility systems are important for taking cars off the road, says Feiger, but it needs to be part of a larger plan to reduce car usage at all stages in someone’s journey. “We need to improve our public transit, regional connectivity, as well as even getting to Tahoe without a car in the first place,” he says. “It's a really important part of the solution but not the only one.”