Across the world, the rate of industrialization and level of urbanization are increasing, which are resulting in the growing spending power. People are now able to purchase stuff that they couldn’t earlier; a classic example is personal vehicles. While the primary purpose of buying them has always been transportation, in certain places, particularly developing countries, people buy them just as a status symbol. The booming automotive sales have led to several issues, such as air pollution, as vehicular exhaust contains many harmful gases, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2). To tackle the issue, governments and international organizations are encouraging people to shun private transport and go for public transport instead, especially for short distances.
As scooters take up less space on the roads as well as require smaller parking areas, the government of several countries are promoting these for regular commuting. With the increase in the number of vehicles on the roads, as a result of the increasing disposable income and population, urban congestion is also rising, with pedestrians barely getting space to cross roads in certain places. With more people opting for shared scooters, it is being expected that road congestion will come down and traffic flow will be a lot smoother than presently.
Presently, Europe displays the highest usage rate of scooter sharing services, owing to the large number of regional cities which have such mobility programs. Though the concept originated in San Francisco, U.S., it has witnessed the fastest expansion in Europe, where such services are available in over 60 cities, currently. During the forecast period, the scooter sharing market growth in Asia-Pacific (APAC) is predicted to be the most rapid. The primary reason behind this would be the swift adoption of shared scooters in Taiwan and China.
Hence, as more people realize the negative effects of the growing number of vehicles, they would start hiring shared scooters, at least for shorter distances, more often.
