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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF MICROMOBILITY

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Presentation on theme: "ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF MICROMOBILITY"— Presentation transcript:

1 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF MICROMOBILITY
Panel Discussion at NABSA Indianapolis, Indiana October 2, 2019

2 POPULUS COMPANY OVERVIEW
Founded by transportation and urban planning PhDs from UC Berkeley and MIT who have spent the past decade building open source software for cities. Our platform securely hosts data from the world’s largest mobility operators, delivering it to more than 40 cities. We harness and contribute to open-source data specifications (e.g. GBFS, MDS). More cost efficient than other solutions, including in-house analysis, due to economies of scale.

3 WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS?
New mobility services (Uber/Lyft, bikeshare, scooters) are being launched in cities at an unprecedented pace. Cities need data to developed informed policies and transportation plans. Their goals typically are to steer progress towards: MOBILITY SERVICE ADOPTION IS ACCELERATING 1 Safety: reducing transportation-related injuries and fatalities. Equitable access: improving availability and accessibility of transportation services to people of all backgrounds. 2 Efficiency: prioritizing efficient use of public space, and reducing transportation energy use/ climate impacts. 3 Rise in use of micromobility and with that a desire/duty to understand how these services compare to alternate modes of transportation from an environmental impacts perspective. Are they really an environmentally friendly alternative? One important factor is understanding mode shift - are scooters/bikes replacing car trips?

4 WHAT IS THE LIFE CYCLE OF A SCOOTER OR BIKE?
Materials Manufacturing Transport Use/ Distribution End-of-Life Avg. Global Warming Impact 50% 2.3% Life cycle estimates span the entire life of the product from materials production through the end of life. Recent study showed that the GHG emissions (g CO2 equi/passenger-mile) were primarily in the materials/manufacturing and Use/distribution phases. Transport and electricity used in charging were smaller portions of the total impact (Hollingsworth, et. al. (2019)) 43% 4.7% Electricity use Scooter icon made by Freepik from (Hollingsworth, et. al. (2019))

5 FACTORS IN LIFE CYCLE IMPACTS
Device Lifespan. Longer lifespan results in improved life cycle impacts when compared to other modes. Distribution Choices. The vehicles used, routes taken, and distribution are important particularly when vehicles use add to impacts. Grid Emissions. Although a smaller component, the type of electricity generation effects impacts from scooter charging and operations. Device Use. Device use, number of miles ridden, is key when comparing to other modes for overall life cycle impacts. Mode Shift. Whether or not micromobility modes are replacing single-occupancy vehicle trips or walking (or anything in between) matters. Materials & Manufacturing. Materials used in manufacturing and the process can account for half of the emissions. Notes on life span 28.8 days in Louisville? Difficult for cities to track vehicles - operators have this info Notes on grid emissions Depends on where you are and what the grid mix is, better in some areas than others.

6 WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT MODE SHIFTING
Bike or scooter ride mode replacement matters Benefits differ if you are replacing a walking trip or an automobile trip In a PBOT survey from 2018, 34% of those surveyed used an electric scooter to replace a trip by car, taxi or rideshare for their most recent ride In a Lime survey from 2018, 30% of Lime riders reported replacing a trip by automobile (personal car, carshare, or taxi/rideshare) during their most recent trip

7 WHAT ARE OPERATORS DOING?
Larger players in the electric bikes and scooters Purchase renewable energy (RECs) Support carbon offset projects Some operators promote reuse and recycling of old vehicles Donate older models of vehicles Recycle of older models - how much of the product can be recycled? Operator distribution models vary Internal operations External “juicers” or “chargers” Vehicle type used Lime Green, 2019 Foreign Press, 2018 Slate, 2019 SCMP, 2019

8 WHAT ARE CITIES DOING? www.populus.ai
Portland Baltimore Dallas Permit holders must quantify the life cycle impacts & attempt to reduce operational VMT from the scooter program City requires a Sustainability Plan that includes expected life span, innovations to extend life, efforts to minimize pollution in rebalancing & charging Dockless vehicles should be built to last 5 years Portland Administrative Rule Quantify Permittees’ scooter life cycle climate impacts, including scooter acquisition, replacement, and disposal; and attempt to reduce permittee operational vehicle miles traveled from deployment, rebalancing, and charging methods. Baltimore Application Includes Required Sustainability Plan, including: a. Expected vehicle life expectancy and average lifespan of the main vehicle parts and vehicle disposal practices. b. Innovations to extend vehicle durability, life expectancy, and durability c. Efforts to minimize pollution associated with retrieval and charging practices. d. A description of operational and financial sustainability including long term plans to provide Dockless Vehicle access in Baltimore City. Dallas All dockless vehicles shall be sturdy and of high quality built to withstand the effects of weather and constant use for at least five (5) years

9 Mobility Partnerships Manager, Populus
Stephanie Seki Mobility Partnerships Manager, Populus THANK YOU

10 WHAT ARE THE LIFE CYCLE IMPACTS?
(Hollingsworth, et. al. (2019))


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