Electric Scooters… Really?
By: Hetty Amis-Woods
Tags: Urban, Urban Transportation, Scooters, Technology, Transportation

Whats next, electric rollerskates?

In the run up to the Christmas of the worst year I have ever lived through, I can’t help but hear murmurs of one topic- presents. The antidote for the past year of disaster, after catastrophe, after crisis. But what will be on the list this year? Phones, Ipads, Airpods….. Electric Scooters?

So, in an age of increasing reliance on quick fixes- quick transport, quick food, quick conveniance- is now the time to start buying into yet another unnecessary convenience product? I think not.

With issues concerning electric scooters ranging from obesity rates to carbon emmissions, I want to know how an electric scooter will fit into the transport system. Will they start to replace bikes as the easier, sweat free way to travel? Will they invade the pavements- generating a new pedestrian terror or will their users become a new menace for road users? And, most importantly, what are they adding to the commuting mix?

As more and more sugary, energy intense foods flood our shelves, whilst physical activity falls another place in our lives, I can’t help but feel that another sedentary product will only further exacerbate the strain of obesity on healthcare everywhere. I can’t see e-scooters replacing cars or buses- they are currently illegal to drive on public roads, pavements or cycle lanes- so the only thing I can imagine them changing is swapping a quick walk to the corner shop to a quicker scoot to the corner shop. Who would have thought the corner shop was such an emergency? Whilst the immediate impact of this seems positive, the wider implications mean one thing; the fall of physical activity. The Office for National Statistics predicts that by 2050 the wider costs to society as a result of obesity will reach £49.9 billion per year. The only remedy of which, to my imagination, is a step up in exercise. The Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) project has shown that a daily commute via bike rather than sedentary transport can lower BMI, and found that, on average, Men who took up cycling lost an average of 0.75 kg, and a deacrease of 0.24 in BMI.

Moreover, I can’t help thinking that another dangerous pavement-road hybrid will only dissuade other, greener healthier modes of transport like cyclists and pedestrians from travelling in this way. Especially in london, we are in desperate need of more people to cycle on their commutes, rather than exacerbating the Londoner’s menace- rush hour. In the UK, 16.7 million people commute to work every day; all in all accounting for 18% of UK carbon emmisions. Whilst the number of people depending on privately owned cars is falling (especailly in the capital) it’s no suprise to hear that in a poll conducted by Cycling UK 43% of people were put off cycling by dangerous road use.

The idea of green, eco friendly electric scooters is a fond argument of scooter supporters everywhere, however researchers at North Carolina State University discovered that traveling by scooter produces more greenhouse gas emissions per mile than traveling by bus or moped, just because of the carbon high manufacturing process. Another subtle but nonetheless significant carbon producing component of electric trans[ort as a whole is simply the source of energy. The product is only as carbon-clean as it’s energy source; and because the UK energy mix is somewhat heavy on the fossil fuels (54% in 2016) many electric scooters squander energy (therefore filling the atmosphere with more CO2) on short, unnecessary journeys.

And yes.. I’ll admit I can spot a glimmer of fun in e-scooters, but really, what are they actually doing better than the options already available to us today? Can you see the unique selling point? If you can, I’m begging you- enlighten me. What happens when the fad is over and all we’re left with is a plethora of e-scooters gathering dust in sheds everywhere? Landfill here we come! In contrast to what you are probably thinking.. I do appreciate a bit of fun, useful; no, ageless; definitely not, but fun??? absolutely. I love fun things like a chick flick i’ll read in a day and leave gathering dust in my cellar for the next century, or another pair of fluffy socks i’ll only wear once. But not £300 machines meant for overaged adolescents… Sorry Ashton Kutcher.