Abstract:

Foldable ultralight electric vehicles (E-ULV) are a promising key component for future sustainable traffic chains for urban regions with mountainous topography. This paper presents electric drive add-on kits for foldable scooters that can be used on public walkways, train stations and subway platforms. The key innovation of these very lightweight and powerful foldable scooters is the adaptive speed limitation based on an ultrasonic sensor that limits the maximum velocity on crowded walkways and permits a faster movement up to jogging velocity if the walkway is obstacle-free. The E-ULV has been tested legally in small fleets on public walkways in Stuttgart and Esslingen by special permission of the Ministry for Traffic and Infrastructure, Stuttgart. E-ULV for the ‘last mile’ will reduce car kilometers and transfer them to the public transport system. Furthermore, parking lot search traffic can be avoided in crowded city centres with a E-ULV in the car trunk. The main obstacle for a legal applicable electric “last mile scooter” is the missing vehicle category on public walkways.