New European coalition to promote micromobility

A new coalition has formed that brings together eight of Europe’s leading names in micromobilty to promote the new mode of urban transport across Europe.

In recent years, e-scooter schemes have expanded across Europe, often leading to tensions regarding their regulation and management. At the same time, more and more local authorities are working to integrate micromobility into their transportation ecosystem. However, many EU countries have banned e-scooters, or have been slow to react to the new mode, relying instead on outdated legislation to govern their use.

In this context, eight e-scooter operators (Bird, Bolt, Dott, FreeNow, Lime, TIER, Voi and Wind) have come together to form Micromobility for Europe (MMfE). MMfE says that the launch of the coalition will address a gap in the representation of the industry in the transport and mobility policy discussions, and will provide the views, expertise and experience of the shared micromobility industry. MMfE says that it is eager to engage with the Commission and EU policy makers to contribute to Europe’s recovery efforts given the changes in mobility that the pandemic has brought, as well as the green and digital transitions.

“EU-wide regulation will enable European cities to optimise the benefits of shared micromobility, as they transition to more sustainable modes of transport,” said Jinél Fourie, TIER’s Head of Public Policy.

“Micro-mobility has revolutionised urban mobility and established itself as an essential alternative to personal car ownership and use” said Catriona Meehan, representative of Wind.

MMfE believes that data generated by micro-mobility providers can support public administrations to better understand, regulate and plan for traffic flows, and help them to improve the use of public infrastructure and space, as well as make the necessary changes to improve road safety and mobility services. The coalition has identified urban mobility, data governance and the circular economy as their top priorities to ensure that shared micromobility is an integral part of EU policy developments in the coming years.

Original article published by Cities Today on 3 February 2021