Abstract:

As a new transportation option for towns, e-scooters are controversially debated.  The rapid development of the e-scooter shared-use industry has raised concerns in many cities around the world about environmental sustainability and public benefits. The high dynamics of the market and insufficient public data available about the concrete business processes of shared e-scooters are making clear statements about the ecological effects difficult. The paper aims to conduct a life cycle assessment using Berlin as an example for shared e-scooters. Based on different operating scenarios, the ecological potentials of e-scooters should be assessed in a more differentiated way. The results show how product lifetimes, swappable batteries, alternative collection logistics and charging concepts influence the greenhouse balance compared to alternative means of transport. There are effective measures for cities and decision makers to work towards integrating e-scooter sharing into urban transport in an environmentally friendly way. It is also feasible to set up a battery charging infrastructure consisting of battery charging and swapping stations, which would enable the user to change and charge the battery himself.