As cities get increasingly crowded, could a switch to smaller, lighter, and more nimble transportation systems make life easier and less expensive for people? Also known as micro-mobility, these lightweight transport options ranging from bicycles and rollerblades to e-bikes, electric scooters and skateboards can typically be used for distances up to 10km, at speeds of up to 25km/h, making them ideal for everyday commuting.

Mike Day, a partner at award-winning urban planning and design practice Hatch | Roberts Day, and a fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, observes that Australia is facing an ‘affordable living crisis’ rather than a ‘housing affordability crisis’, with people living in the outer suburbs having to spend more time and money on long commutes.

Citing the latest research by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), Day says, “...the annual cost of owning and running a car in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane is $26,000 and the average cost across all Australian capital cities is $23,000. At an interest rate of 6%, removing one car from a two- or three-car family, and the associated cost, would service around $300,000 of a housing loan.”

Day, who has over 30 years of experience in planning and design, and has led the Hatch | Roberts Day design teams on several urban renewal and new townships projects across Australia, the UAE and Asia, presents e-bikes as a viable alternative to a car.

“Not only does a full charge of an e-bike cost 25-30 cents per 60km of powered riding, if just 15 per cent of urban transportation comprised e-bikes, carbon emissions could be reduced by 12 per cent.[1] E-bikes also utilise more direct routes, and studies have shown there is minimal difference in physical activity gains between e-bikers and cyclists[2]. Bikes can move seven times more people than cars: a single lane of traffic can move 14,000 cyclists an hour, compared with 9000 people on buses and just 2000 people in cars.[3]”

However, e-bikes also need their own dedicated lane, separate from pedestrian movement and cars, he adds. Micro-mobility, therefore, needs to be integrated into the existing road networks to maximise its benefits, and a new micro-mobility-focused streetscape should be designed for the future.

While forward-thinking governments and councils are keen to embrace the concept, there are several roadblocks to its implementation. “Micro-mobility is an extremely cost-effective way to get closer to our climate goals[4] while addressing the perennial urban problems of traffic congestion and air pollution. It brings faster trips for commuters[5], offers an alternative for last-mile servicing and parcel delivery, and has proven health benefits for users. Studies show that compared to driving, riding an e-bike improves our physical health, happiness and overall sense of wellbeing[6],” explains Day.

Safety of micro-mobility users when they have to share roads with conventional traffic remains one of the main obstacles.

“An exciting solution currently being tested in places like Europe is designated roads with multiple lanes suited to the speed of each transport mode[7]. This can not only improve safety but substantially increase traffic flow through congested areas.’’

Improved riding, parking, and charging infrastructure, and integration with high-frequency public transport networks, are other paths to explore when implementing micro-mobility.

Image: https://benbucklerboards.com.au/collections/super73

References:

[1] M. McQueen, et al., 2020, ‘The E-Bike Potential: Estimating regional e-bike impacts on greenhouse gas emissions https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1361920920306696?via=ihub

[2] A. Castro, et al, 2019, ‘Physical activity of electric bicycle users compared to conventional bicycle users and non-cyclists: Insights based on health and transport data from an online survey in seven European cities’, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X

[3] Botma and Papendrecht, 1991,’ TRAFFIC OPERATION OF BICYCLE TRAFFIC’: https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=365588

[4] Elsevier, https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10218774

[5] Bykko Report, https://bykko.com.au/news/

[6] US Govt, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9790588/

[7] Buro Happold Case Study, https://www.burohappold.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/buro-happold-micromobility-street-design-manual-0722.pdf