Peter Rosegg [email protected] The ToysElectric inline skates - I never thought of this as a subcategory for micromobility -- and I am pretty sure I know why. I say bikes, not yikes! But for those who already roll this way, why not? Skate uphill with no effort. escendblades.com
I am sure there’s more that I missed, perhaps something about balancing your bank account while you ride. The driverless car may be coming more slowly than expected, but the almost driverless bicycle may not be far behind. Check out weel.bike. Where car no go, cargo bikes can go More mundane, but more practical right now, is the cargo bike. Lots of examples at MM. including these two. Notice that Cake, on the right, sports no pedals. Is it still an e-bike or something else, you decide. In Honolulu, Dominos Pizza delivers in the urban area on e-bikes. Elsewhere, UPS and FedEx are looking at cargo e-bikes for urban last-mile deliveries. Let Amazon try their drones! A little cooler than you arePiaggio Fast Forward “Gita” robot -- Piaggio is an Italian moped company that, among other devices, has a three-wheeler seen all over Europe. The front wheels slant through turns so it is as close to non-tippable as a moped can get. Why it is not avaialble except on special, special order in the U.S., I do not know. Piaggio’s only American outpost, in Boston, offers this cargo carrier, in 20- and 40-pound capacity models. It follows you around like a puppy with no leash and has built in safety devices so it is aware of and polite to other pedestrians. At rest, the wheels slide out so it sits flat on the ground. Around golf courses I’ve often seen motorized bag carts and wondered why something like that is not available for moving bags or boxes around the built environment. Gita is a step in that direction. piaggiofastforward.com Speaking of “I dream of things that never were and say, why not?”
Mini-mobility – the next “little thing? The three-wheel Nimbus One – You can rent this prototype today in what some consider the next step in the evolution of this category. It is enclosed, obviously, and behind the driver is room for another person (as long as it’s not Andre the Giant) or perhaps some groceries, but I am not sure if both will fit. Like the Piaggio three-wheel moped mentioned above, the front wheels slant through turns. No pedals on this one. And I doubt it would be allowed in a bike lane or on the sidewalk. Another similar vehicle on display had four wheels and looks like someone opened a valve on a Smart Car and let the air out. Thing is, there is already a category called Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, a glorified golf cart, usually seating two or four, that can carry more stuff and is street legal. So, is it the next big thing? This company thinks it may be. Check out nimbusev.com Farewell to Micromobility America and San Francisco Below is a scene outside the San Francisco Ferry Building where we caught the boat across the Bay to Richmond and the Craneway exhibition hall seen at top. San Francisco is a city with lots of e-bikes, private and shared, and lots of e-scooters, likewise private and shared, plus plenty of non-electric bikes and boards – and pedestrians. One good thing is that most devices have built-in capacity to be locked to a pole or something, which keeps them from being dumped willy-nilly on sidewalks or private property. Mostly you can’t “turn off” an e-scooter without locking it to something, or you continue to pay for it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I personally don’t find this hodge-podge a perfect picture of micromobility. But it is the future, unless we can find a way to improve on it.
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February 2023
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