Micromobility

"SUVs, pick-up trucks, and passenger cars should not be the benchmark by which we judge the size of other forms of transit, and the term ‘micromobility’ encourages us to believe that they are."

The post Opinion: Why We Should Stop Using the Word ‘Micromobility’ appeared first on Streetsblog USA.

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.