Safety worries will slow micro-mobility adoption

Significance

Its larger rival Uber is likely to follow suit. Such ride-hailing and sharing technology companies are at one end of the micro-mobility transformation of urban transport to rider- rather than driver-centric. At the other are the dockless e-scooter and electric bicycle app services, which in many places are replacing docked and dockless bicycle services. McKinsey estimates that by 2020, shared micro-mobility apps will be used for up to one in seven journeys under 8 kilometres.

Impacts

• Commuters are the key target for e-scooters, but the trend may extend to the elderly where mass transit is unavailable.
• ‘Dockless’ transportation depends on its servicing network and the numbers of technicians certified in micro-mobility services will rise.
• Insurers will screen micro-mobility network data to assess injuries; most hospitals code patients by the type rather than cause of injury.
• In rural areas of developing countries, expanding mobile banking will help connect the unbanked to micro-mobility services.
• E-scooter start-up valuations may suffer as barriers to entry are low, US-China tariffs may raise costs and personal ownership may rise.