NEW urban mobility solutions are gaining increasing numbers of users, particularly with self-serve sharing offers multiplying in big cities.
All around the world, it's now easy and practical to pick up an electric moped, a bike or even a scooter to speed up a short urban journey. But, depending on the country and the culture, some modes are taking the lead over others, with bikes riding high in China and scooters speeding ahead in the US.
Moped sharing booms in India
At the end of 2020, there were over 104,000 shared mopeds in circulation worldwide, for some 8.7 million users, according to the Global Moped Sharing Market 2020 report from Unu. This type of service is particularly in demand in India and in Europe.
In fact, India counts the most shared mopeds available to the public (more than 25,000), ahead of Spain (23,050) and Taiwan (15.350). In terms of cities, Bangalore (India) has the largest offer, with 22,000 vehicles, followed by Taipei (Taiwan) with 10,650, and Barcelona (Spain) with 8,900.
Bike-sharing rides high in China
Today, more than 1,000 of the world's cities have a bike-sharing scheme, but China's cities count the most bikes available to residents. In Hangzhou, there are almost 80,000 self-serve bikes available via almost 3,000 bike-sharing stations located throughout the city.
There are over 40,000 in Taiyuan, and over 20,000 in several other major Chinese cities, such as Suzhou or Kunshan. And it's the same story in Seoul, South Korea. In comparison, there are currently thought to be a little over 15,000 in Paris, and as many in the whole of the Netherlands.
In the US, only New York is estimated to have a fleet of over 10,000 self-serve bikes. These figures corroborate data from the various operators.
The USA pioneers electric scooter sharing
The USA leads the way when it comes to sharing electric kick scooters. Scooter sharing has proved popular in many major American cities, especially Santa Monica, where the trend originated.
Today, Bird and Lime are the two largest operators in the sector, present in over 100 cities, whether in the US or further afield. However, no recent global study of the market – which is still growing (the first offers date from 2017) – counts the exact number of scooters in circulation. – ETX Studio, January 26, 2021
