Micromobility

Between 42,000 crash deaths a year and rising tailpipe emissions that are swiftly killing the planet, America's long love affair with the privately-owned car hasn't exactly been a healthy relationship. Now, one micromobility company is sending a message to riders that it's time to break up — even if their cities aren't perfectly ridable yet.

For the global city that has put the world on notice over the past decade for embracing sustainable transport, Paris recently took a disappointing step backward by enacting a ban on shared scooters, known locally as trottinettes.

Most bikeshare rides taken on U.S. soil happen in a handful of gigantic cities, on systems maintained by big corporations. But at YoGo Bikeshare in Youngstown, Ohio, Ronnell Elkins and his team are building a bespoke micromobility option specifically for his neighbors — and hoping to create a model for other small cities to combat car dependency.