E-scooters: a sustainable transport solutions or just a luxury of convenience?
- ecologicalspirit
- Jan 17
- 3 min read
Hi and welcome to this Video Production News Science Editorial:
E-Scooters are an energy-efficient versatile urban mode of transport. They are perceived as a sustainable eco-friendly mode of transport for short trips and commuting. On top of this they are they are portrayed as a cost-effective low-maintenance alternative to cars.
The increasing popularity of e-scooters in the UK has raised significant questions around their safety, environmental impact, and societal value. In 2022 a report, written by Sustrans in partnership with ARUP and Living Streets, demanded Government action to stop e-scooters and other electric vehicles using pavements. Calls for stricter legislation are mounting as accident rates climb.
According to Department for Transport data, there were 1,492 casualties and 12 fatalities related to e-scooter collisions in 2022 alone. This trend marks a worrying rise in both serious and minor injuries compared to previous years.
E-Scooters and the Myth of Sustainability
Despite their sleek, modern image as green mobility solutions, e-scooters are not the eco-saviours many believe. The core environmental claim—that they reduce emissions—is only valid if they replace car journeys. Yet, studies show this is often not the case and such technical innovation not a plausible solution to reduce transport emissions in line with EU and global mitigation objectives without other initiatives.
Assuming CO₂ emissions is a suitable metric, a comprehensive analysis by North Carolina State University reveals that e-scooters generate 202 grams of CO₂ per mile over their lifecycle, accounting for manufacturing, charging, and maintenance. This exceeds the emissions from electric mopeds (119 grams) and even diesel buses (82 grams per passenger mile, assuming high occupancy).
The critical issue is who is using e-scooters and why. Research from major European cities, including Paris and Brussels, found that up to 60% of e-scooter trips replaced journeys that would have otherwise been taken by walking, cycling, or public transportation. In such cases, using an e-scooter increases the carbon footprint rather than reducing it.
A study by the Journal of Transport & Health also shows that e-scooter use requires less physical activity than walking so prolonged and frequent use may have detrimental effects on health. Although it could be argued that some of these users may have considered buying a car if there were not these new innovative e-scooters.
Who Benefits from E-Scooters?
The purported narrative of e-scooters democratizing transport for underprivileged communities is deeply flawed. The high upfront costs of owning an e-scooter, combined with regular maintenance expenses and limited rental scheme coverage in less affluent areas, make them far more accessible to affluent urban dwellers. This turns e-scooters into little more than recreational devices for the privileged.
Furthermore, when non-car users (those who don’t own or regularly drive a vehicle) adopt e-scooters, they contribute to environmental harm. If you do not possess a car license or regularly use a private car for local trips, switching to an e-scooter does not “offset” any existing car journey. Instead, it merely adds the emissions of producing, distributing, and eventually disposing of the e-scooter to your personal carbon footprint.
The Uncomfortable Truth
The bottom line is stark: unless you are an active car owner replacing short-distance car journeys with an e-scooter, your choice to ride one contributes more harm than good. E-scooters, when replacing walking or public transit, represent a net-negative for the environment. The energy-intensive production of lithium-ion batteries, frequent wear-and-tear replacements, and reliance on short lifespan components make their eco-friendliness conditional at best.
This means that claims positioning e-scooters as sustainable transport solutions for everyone are fundamentally misleading. Without clear behaviour shifts from private car dependency to micro-mobility, the narrative of e-scooters as a “green” revolution is a myth that masks their true environmental cost.
Conclusion
As UK lawmakers ponder new regulatory frameworks for e-scooters, a sober reckoning with their environmental and societal implications is overdue. Stricter rules on safety are vital, but so too is an honest assessment of how, when, and by whom these devices should be used to deliver real sustainability gains. Until then, e-scooters remain the illusion of eco-friendliness—a luxury of convenience, not a solution for sustainable transport.
Well, that’s all for now. But until our next article, please stay tuned, stay informed, but most of all stay safe, and I’ll see you then.
Well, that’s all for now. But until our next article, please stay tuned, stay informed, but most of all stay safe, and I’ll see you then.
Konrad Chapman
Science Correspondent
VPN - City-Desk
Comments