Micromobility Reduces Car Emissions More Than Previously Thought
Author: Tim Tyler
According to recent research from Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy, a scooter ban may ease sidewalk congestion and keep potential riders and pedestrians safer, but it has a price. In a study looking at the effects of Atlanta’s 2019 ban on e-scooters and e-bikes in the city, travel times rose by around 10% on average. While the restriction was in place, travel times to stadium events, such as soccer matches, increased by roughly 12 minutes per trip, or 37%. The study, which was completed at Georgia Tech’s Data Science and Policy Lab and was published inNature Energy, is the first to demonstrate conclusively how putting money into micromobility infrastructures like e-bikes, e-scooters, and bike lanes can lessen traffic congestion and carbon emissions in urban areas. Asensio said, “I think modeling the emissions impacts for those will continue to be an ongoing kind of investigation,” he said. “When it comes to electrification, micro-mobility is just one of many strategies that are aggressively being invested in by both the public and the private sector. It’s a really exciting opportunity to meaningfully reduce emissions and to benefit from the public health co-benefit of reduced air pollution.”