Tag Archive: Shared Mobility

  1. Shared mobility in Hannover after one year

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    Source: Zag Daily

    Earlier this summer, the Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab published the results of its year-long research project which looks at shared mobility and how it can facilitate more sustainable transport usage in Hannover, Germany.

    The Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab is an experiment using shared operator data from Bolt and advanced modelling and simulations from the technical university ETH Zürich to help city officials with developing their sustainable mobility strategies.

    Hannover is one of the focus cities alongside Seville, Lisbon and the capital city of Asunción in Paraguay.

    With a population of 1.1 million in the wider region (500,000 in the city), Hannover is aiming to reduce its transport-related carbon emissions by 70% and private car use by 25% while doubling bike and public transport usage by 2035 with its VEP 2035+ plan.

    Meanwhile, its Master Plan Mobility, which was implemented in 2025, has outlined strategies for improving bicycle traffic, and implementing designated parking zones for shared e-scooters and mobility hubs.

    The Lab’s findings could be used as evidence to inform both of Hannover’s sustainable transportation strategies.

    Leader of research at ETH Zürich, Eva Heinen, explains this further to Zag Daily.

    “The key lesson is that cities can use shared-mobility GPS data, telemetry, app surveys and simulations to move from broad mobility goals to specific interventions: where to improve cycling infrastructure, where parking regulation works, where safety issues may emerge and where mobility hubs can have the greatest accessibility benefit.

    “That approach is highly relevant for many German and European cities that have similar Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans or Master Mobility Plans.”

    The Lab’s mission for Hannover research was to explore the following: e-scooter usage across demographics, micromobility safety, first and last-mile connections for public transportation, parking regulations, and identifying where mobility hubs need to be prioritised.

    Sustainable Urban Transition Lab one-year results in Hannover

    The following was published in relation to general transport usage:

    • If all citizens in Hannover could access micromobility, car trips could be reduced by approximately 14%, and public transport use could rise by up to 20%.
    • Hannover, historically recognised as a car-centric city, sees 31% of trips made by car, 27% by foot, 23% by bike and 19% by public transportation.

    For e-scooter usage, 2.23 million e-scooter trips between May 2024 and December 2025 were analysed:

    • The average e-scooter trip was 1.5 kilometres and lasted less than seven minutes.
    • 96% of total trips were by local residents
    • Young adults aged 18-30 accounted for 70% of riders, with men accounting for 71% of ridership
    • Commuting was the trip purpose for most riders
    • Higher commuting was recorded in the afternoon than in the morning

    There appeared to be a contrast of usage patterns between genders:

    • Men accounted for 71% of ridership
    • Women’s trips tended to be shorter than men’s (1.4 km compared to 1.5 km), as well as slower ( 13.6 km/h compared to 14.3km/h).
    • Female riders tend to use e-scooters more near metro and tram stations.
    • Female riders account for a higher morning commute peak, and take fewer trips in the early morning and night

    With an unequal distribution of e-scooter usage across the demographics, the Lab highlights street lighting as one way of encouraging ridership, with traffic safety and the presence of streetlights proving important factors in route choice, particularly for women.

    As well as street lighting, the results reveal a requirement for improving cycling infrastructure, safety perception and route comfort.

    Furthermore, using data from 77,000 shared e-scooter rides to flag potential safety warning signs, the Lab were able to pinpoint safety hotspots across Hannover.

    The strongest risk factors were uncovered as being higher average trip speeds above 15 km/h, roads with speed limits of 50 km/h and non-signalised intersections.

    Findings revealed that male riders were associated with a higher amount of potential safety-critical events.

    From its research, the Lab is calling for inspections to be conducted on areas with repeated warning signs, an improvement on pavement quality, a review of complex intersections and roundabouts, an expansion of slow zones, and improve the designs of cycling and electric scooter infrastructure.

    How well does micromobility connect with public transport in Hannover?

    The Lab used e-scooter GPS data with Google Street View images, public transport timetables and rider surveys to analyse this.

    Findings revealed that more than 55% of e-scooter trips were classified as first- or last-mile connections to public transport, while just 2.5% were identified as competing with public transport.

    These connections were more commonly associated with commuting, rather than leisure purposes.

    With this evidence, the Lab advises for e-scooter to be strategically incorporated into the wider public transport network to increase its attractiveness to users.

    E-scooter parking in Hannover

    In early 2025, Hannover rolled out new rules for mandatory parking zones for e-scooters in the city centre.

    The Lab analysed the impact of this policy and found that most users park in the authorised areas, and had reduced parked scooters in pedestrian areas and sidewalks, without decreasing overall usage.

    It also found that the parking zones resulted in reducing very short trips of under 1 km to more meaningful travel, with distances and durations of trips to the city centre increasing, and peak morning commuting times becoming more pronounced.

    The Lab concludes that Hannover’s e-scooter parking regulation can encourage more purposeful trips that may contribute to reducing car use.

    Mobility hubs prioritisation

    To help identify this, the Lab adopted a simulation model for evaluating public transport accessibility to identify areas where mobility hubs (areas combining public transport, cycling, shared e-scooters, walking, bike parking and other mobility services) can have the greatest impact.

    The simulation identified mobility hubs that can help to reduce public transport gaps, especially for Hannover’s outer districts. It flagged the central station of Hannover Hauptbahnhof, as well as light rail (Stadtbahn), regional rail (S -Bahn) stops, and Großer Hillen, Misburger Straße, Fasanenkrug, Nordhafen, Ahlem and Anderten -Misburg being highlighted as recommended areas.

    Although the city has a dense public transport network, not all residents can access a stop within 10 minutes of walking, therefore, the Lab advises that access to the mobility hubs can be improved with micromobility services instead of walking.

    What’s next for Hannover

    Now that the city’s participation with the Lab has ended, its members will discuss with Hannover how the findings can be best implemented, and what further work may be needed.

  2. Berlin outlines shared mobility strategy

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    Source: Berlin Senatsverwaltung MVKU Image credit: Bhavik Nasit, Unsplash

    Berlin has announced its Sharing Strategy 2035, outlining an integrated framework for shared mobility services, and highlighting their contribution to sustainable, flexible and networked urban mobility.

    The strategy includes plans for the establishment of a network of approximately 3,000 shared mobility hubs across zones labelled 0-2, which cover around 60% of the city’s area and over 80% of the population. Monitoring and evaluation stages are built into the strategy, allowing for review of implementation and impact, and options for adjustment of the strategy.

    The zones represent differing density and usage areas, with Zones 0 and 1 high density, and Zone 3 lower-density. In zone zero, the maximum walking distance to the nearest mobility hub is 100 metres, rising to 200 metres in zones 1 and 2.

    Parking restrictions for shared e-bikes and e-scooters will gradually be implemented between the stations, meaning that rental and return will only be possible at the designated hubs, preventing street clutter and increasing traffic safety. The Berlin Transport Authority, BVG, is responsible for the construction and operation of the stations.

    The mobility hubs will accommodate a variety of shared-use vehicles, including e-scooters and bikes, as well as car-sharing vehicles.

  3. Call for urgent action to transform transport

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    Source: Campaign for Better Transport, AOL Image credit: Eduardo Ramos, Unsplash

    A multi-sector coalition of more than 50 UK organisations, coordinated by the Campaign for Better Transport, has issued a joint statement urging the government to act decisively to promote sustainable transport, including shared mobility, cycling, public transport and more, in response to the climate emergency.

    Figures show that in 2025, domestic transport was responsible for almost 33% of the UK’s net greenhouse-gas emissions, with the majority of journeys less than five miles (eight km). The coalition’s joint statement says:

    “We call on the Government to fulfil the commitment it made in opposition and set a national trajectory for delivering a sustained modal shift in line with the sustainable transport hierarchy, increasing the proportion of journeys made by public transport, shared transport, walking, wheeling and cycling, alongside its commitment to a rail freight growth target.”

    Ben Plowden, Chief Executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, expanded on the ways in which a modal shift can be achieved. “What that means is creating the conditions which allow people to travel for a higher proportion of the trip by walking, cycling, public transport and shared mobility than by private cars.

    “It’s really a question around getting on with the sort of investment primarily in local transport improvements that would allow all of those things to happen simultaneously and as part of the same process.

    “And we think that that needs to be driven by central government setting an overall target for enabling people to change how they travel, away from private vehicle use and to be able to choose public transport, walks, cycle, wheeled and shared mobility.”

    The statement was signed by Richard Dilks, Chief Executive of shared-mobility charity CoMoUK, alongside organisations from the transport, health, air quality and other sectors.

  4. Mandatory helmets for e-scooters in Belgium

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    Source: Zag Daily

    Belgium has introduced a new requirement from 1 September, that riders of e-scooters which have a maximum speed above 20 km/h must wear a helmet. The rule applies regardless of how fast the scooter is travelling at any one time.

    Safety risks associated with e-scooters is the reason cited by the federal government for the new requirement; official data from Belgium’s statistics agency reveal 15 fatalities involving e-scooters during 2025, in contrast to four fatalities the previous year.

    The legal maximum speed for e-scooters on Belgium’s public roads is 25 km/h, so the new requirement affects all scooters capable of speeds 20 km/h or higher. Riders must wear a moped helmet, or bicycle helmet which protects the back of the head and the temples.

    Enforcement and other concerns

    Lars Christian Grødem-Olsen, Mobility Advisor and Managing Director at mobility consultancy Movability, acknowledged the thinking behind the requirement, but voiced some concerns to Zag Daily. “Higher speeds in transport generally means higher accident risk, since riders have less time to make critical decisions in traffic. Mandatory helmets make sense in theory but are very difficult to enforce.”

    He also added that privately owned scooters which are widely available, and can easily exceed the legal 25 km/h limit, pose a greater safety challenge.

    The wider micromobility picture in Belgium

    There has been disruption to the shared-scooter sector in the Belgian capital, Brussels, where it was announced that shared e-scooters will be removed from the city’s streets following the recent annulment of operators’ contracts.

    Outside of the capital, the announcement of the helmet requirement is seen somewhat positively by some shared-mobility operators. Dott pointed out to Zag Daily that its shared e-scooters are capped at 20 km/h, and so are not affected by the new requirement, and could possibly encourage private e-scooter users to switch to shared vehicles.

  5. Shared micromobility operators removed from Brussels

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    Source: VRT, Zag Daily Image credit: Polly, Unsplash

    Following infringements, the Belgian capital’s Council of State has annulled the contracts of most dockless e-scooter and bike operators, requiring a new shared mobility legal framework to be prepared. Therefore, from September 1st, Dot, Voi and Bolt vehicles are no longer allowed on the street.

    The region and operators are working together on finding a temporary solution for shared bikes as they wait for the new legal framework.

    Some shared mobility services will still be permitted, such as Villo shared bikes, and Felyx shared e-scooters, due to them running under different contracts. Private e-bikes and e-scooters will still be allowed.

    How the Council of State ruling came about

    It started in 2023, when Brussels’ government announced its plans to decrease the numbers of its shared e-scooters there by 12,000 (from 20,000 to 8,000). Consequently, the number of operators there reduced, with only Dott and Bolt being allowed to continue operations. As well as Volt, both Dott and Bolt were also given permission to offer their shared bicycle services.

    As a result of the shared scooter reduction, Lime was an operator that had to move its vehicles out of the city, which led to a dispute where they made 5 appeals with the Council of State, arguing that the selection process was rushed and lacked transparency.

    After a legal dispute of over 2 years, the Council of State issued a final ruling that there were infringements in the government’s selection proceedings. This caused it to issue an annulment in the permits of shared scooters and bikes.

    The Council of State explained its annulment of the contracts was because of the selection decisions not being justified adequately, with parts of the decree being unlawful.

    Brussels Mobility sent a letter to the affected licensed operators to cease their activities in Brussels by September 1st.

    What’s next for shared micromobility in Brussels

    In the meantime, the Brussels government has to create a new legal shared mobility framework to avoid procedural errors such as the mentioned infringement in the future. Then Brussels will open a new tender for shared bicycles. In regards to e-scooters, Brussels was already planning to enforce a ban on them on 1st January 2027.

  6. Microlino launches car-sharing pilot with Mobility

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    Source: Microlino

    The LEVA-EU member launched the project in project in July, enabling three Microlinos to be available for Mobility customers at the Zurich Oerlikon train station in Switzerland. It also celebrated the milestone of its 5,000th model coming off the production line this Summer.

    Microlino highlights how the need for space-efficiency in cities is more evident than ever, due to limited parking, a lack of road space and increasing demands for flexible mobility.

    It has described the pilot project as demonstrating how shared mobility can become more space-efficient, practical and sustainable.

    For the project, three Microlinos, with their charging station, will be stored in two conventional parking spaces, and provide remaining space for a small tree. Microlino describes this as urban mobility using less space as it creates more possibilities.

    From Mobility’s perspective, the project addresses the key topic of addressing different mobility needs while using minimal space and resources.

    The electric microcar Microlino is 2.5 metres long, with a range of up to 228 km, making it an ideal sustainable and space-efficient travel mode for both urban and regional trips.

    Microlino’s Co-Founder, Merlin Ouboter said the following about the Microlino and Mobility collaboration.

    “Demand for compact electric mobility solutions is growing significantly, especially in urban areas. Together with Mobility, we want to show that the Microlino can be a meaningful addition not only as a private city vehicle, but also in car sharing.”

    “For us, it is exciting to find out whether Microlinos can be a meaningful addition to our conventional vehicles.” , adds Stefan Roschi, Head of Communications & Media at Mobility

    Outline for the car sharing pilot project

    Both Microlino and Mobility will look at how the shared vehicles are used, and evaluate customer experiences. It will use the findings to uncover whether and how Microlinos can be integrated on a wider scale into Mobility’s car-sharing offering.

    Microlino celebrates 5,000th model off production line in Turin factory

    Microlino’s announcement thanks everyone who has contributed to its journey in achieving this special milestone.

    Co-Founder Merlin Ouboter noted how far the brand has come since its ambitions to produce 500 Microlinos ten years ago in 2016:

    “I clearly remember announcing in 2016 that we would build a small series of 500 vehicles if we received that many reservations. Now, we have already achieved ten times that number.”

  7. Hidden operational costs of shared-mobility businesses

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    Source: ATOM Mobility

    Shared mobility systems that support an increasingly simple and convenient user experience can be more complex and costly than riders might realise. Beyond the initial outlay on fleets and permits, the expenses of day-to-day operation can mount up, affecting profitability prospects.

    The latest European Shared Mobility Index, published by Fluctuo, indicates that over 700 million trips were taken in Europe in 2025, demonstrating the integral role shared mobility now plays in daily life. For operators in the sector, there is a consistent pattern of underestimation of the running costs beyond the launch stage – fleet downtime, balancing and maintenance all have an impact, as do customer service support and the management of compliance.

    Vehicle downtime

    Each shared e-scooter or bike is only capable of generating revenue when it’s available to potential riders. As an example, a scooter might expect to see two trips per day at €3 per ride, producing approximately €2,200 annually in revenue. Should a recurring maintenance problem keep that scooter out of action for two weeks a quarter, the operator could lose over €250 in revenue on that unit alone. At fleet level, this scenario is amplified significantly.

    Not only is the cost of maintenance to be factored in; insurance, depreciation, financing, storage and general operational overheads still apply even when the scooter is unavailable for hire.

    Fleet balancing

    The nature of shared mobility use sees vehicles beginning to cluster in some city areas and becoming sparse in others, necessitating a proactive fleet redistribution system. It’s a challenge which requires investment in terms of people, vehicles, planning, and technology – large operators will maintain dedicated teams to manage this aspect.

    The balancing and redistribution of shared mobility has been a topic of many academic studies, acknowledging this area as one of the biggest operational challenges, which directly affects both utilisation and customer satisfaction.

    Charging operations

    Fleets of e-bikes, e-scooters and mopeds require a robust charging infrastructure. If complete vehicles or batteries need to be collected for charging, there is an underlying requirement for labour, logistics, warehouse space and charging infrastructure, with the cost of electricity adding to the expense.

    An efficient charging process is essential as fleets grow, as poor battery management increases downtime (with its own associated costs as described earlier). Dedicated teams and infrastructure are needed to ensure efficient coordination.

    Timely maintenance

    Minor vehicle issues, such as a loose component or battery that performs below normal levels, may not immediately mean the vehicle needs to be removed from service, but left unresolved could lead to larger, more costly repairs. Consequently, successful operators take a more proactive approach to maintenance, making it an ongoing operational process that’s supported by diagnostic tools, automation, and task management systems that all help identify problems before users are aware of them.

    Customer support

    The customer support element of shared mobility – response to queries about payment issues, failed unlocking attempts, trip disputes and more – should be factored into a shared mobility project at the launch planning stage. A fleet which generates 100,000 monthly trips is likely to receive hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of support requests during that period. A poor support experience can negatively impact on customer retention and lead to poor reviews.

    Regulation and policy

    In contrast to the early days of shared mobility projects, cities now expect high standards in areas such as parking compliance, safety measures and accessibility, supported by operational transparency and detailed reporting.

    This necessitates investment in:

    • reporting systems
    • compliance processes
    • city partnerships
    • parking management
    • real-time operational monitoring

    These aspects represent an increasingly necessary aspect of running a shared mobility operation, as cities become ever-more selective about permit allocation and the establishment of long-term partnerships.

  8. Shared bikes help two-wheelers outnumber motor vehicles in the City of London

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    Source: Ebike Tips, City of London Corporation Image source: Ian O’Donnell, Unsplash

    For the first time, there are now more bikes in traffic than motor vehicles in the City of London area of the UK capital city, with shared bikes significantly boosting the figures.

    The data comes from the City of London Corporation’s most recent summer traffic survey, conducted on Thursday 3 July 2025, and published ahead of a meeting of the City’s Planning and Transport Committee. The committee’s latest report shows 44% more people cycling and 22% more walking and wheeling, compared to 2023.

    The City has undertaken traffic surveys since 1999, and states in the latest publication, “Overall, growth in cycling has been sustained over time, with notable increases in recent years, while motor vehicle volumes have continued to trend downward. By summer 2025, cycling volumes slightly exceeded motor vehicle volumes at these sites, indicating a significant shift towards active travel.”

    The chart detailing the trajectories of motor vehicle and cycle traffic in the City starkly demonstrates the general shift in travel behaviour from four wheels to two in the period since 1999.

    The recorded cycle types are further broken down into four categories; here it is clear to see that the use of dockless hire bikes, from private operators such as Lime, has taken a substantial leap, surging to a total of 52,000 in 2025 compared to 23,100 in 2024. Cargo bikes are also significantly increasing their share of the mix, rising to 5,000 in 2025 from 2,100 in 2024. The public Santander hire bike scheme, managed by Transport for London, also saw a rise to 11,800, from 7,700 in 2024. Only private bikes saw a drop in use from 2024, to 100,900 compared to 106,500.

    The Transport and Planning Committee report includes some detail on cargo bike grants and cargo bike share scheme, which is in the second year of a three-year delivery programme in partnership with the Zero Emissions Network.

    “Through this network, cargo bike grants were given to four City of London businesses this year to support sustainable operations. A new public cargo bike share scheme was launched in November 2025. The bike is located on Fann Street and available for hire by residents and businesses. The Shakespeare pub looks after the bike and ensures the battery is fully charged. In the first four months, there have been 48 bookings, 114 hours of ride time and 360km travelled.”

  9. The advantages of station-based bike sharing

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    Source: ATOM Mobility

    The latest European Shared Mobility Index from Fluctuo indicates that station-based bike sharing systems are proving to be resilient in the midst of fluctuations in the shared mobility sector, offering a variety of advantages to both operators and cities.

    The index for 2025 puts the total number of shared mobility trips across Europe at 709 million, with bike-sharing services accounting for 363 million of these trips. Public bike-sharing systems generated 239 million of these trips, and privately operated schemes 124 million.

    Although the Fluctuo index no longer differentiates between station-based and dockless systems, the report does state that publicly subsidised schemes are predominantly station-based, whereas private schemes primarily rely on dockless bikes; therefore it can be inferred that the majority of the 239 million trips on public shared-bike schemes were made on station-based bikes.

    Shifting priorities

    A clear theme emerging from the latest index is that the shared mobility market is becoming more disciplined. Operators are now more focused on locations where sustainable long-term operation is feasible, rather than chasing every possible opportunity. Cities are also becoming more selective, favouring more controlled systems that can fit in alongside existing wider transport networks.

    These shifts represent favourable conditions for station-based bike sharing systems. In comparison to free-floating dockless fleets, they offer predictable parking, easier fleet management, and a strong integration with public transport networks.

    The position of e-bikes

    Historically, many station-based systems have operated mainly with non-electric bikes, however newer systems are are starting to incorporate more electric bike models into their fleets – 26% of station-based systems’ bikes are now electric. The Fluctuo index shows that public bike sharing systems see a significantly higher trips-per-vehicle-per-day (TVD) score for their electric bikes than for non-electric (4.6 and 2.1 respectively).

    Examples of success

    In Paris, the Vélib’ system features thousands of electric and non-electric bikes across an expansive station network covering a large part of the city. Its approximately 48.5 million trips in 2025 made it the highest-ridership public bike-sharing system in Europe. It has become a natural part of many Parisians’ daily commute alongside the public transport network of metro, buses and trains, indicating a high level of dependability.

    Barcelona’s Bicing system also combines electric and non-electric bikes, and is strongly integrated into the city’s transport ecosystem for residential commuters. The city is going through a period of change with regard to shared mobility, after shared scooters were banned, private dockless schemes are being phased out, and the Bicing system looks set to merge with the suburban AMBici system of public dockless bikes.

    Milan’s BikeMi system grew steadily with dense station placement, and enjoyed strong commuter adoption and good integration with the city’s public transport network. Its offering of both electric and non-electric bikes represents a reliable transport option for both residents and visitors.

    These three examples, while differing in scale and geography, share common characteristics of good integration with city transportation networks, high station density, and predictable rider experiences.