By 2030, rush hour traffic in Munich will grow so bad the streets will be in a complete gridlock from 6am to 9pm. A steady rise in urban populations around the world is putting massive stress on the transportation systems that keep cities moving. In the US, about 83% of the population lives in urban areas. This number is projected to increase to almost 90% within the next 30 years. Like Munich, cities across the US were not built to sustain this type of growth. Large streets designed more for cars than for people are reaching their breaking points. In the US, just under half of all car traffic is caused by trips that are less than three miles. Figuring out how cities will manage the growing volume of traffic will be one of the most important tasks of the coming decades.
As Innovations in batteries and manufacturing continue to drive down the price of personal vehicles, more city planners have begun looking towards micro-mobility as a way to keep cities accessible. The pandemic has accelerated this necessary shift towards reduced travel by normalizing working from home and promoting hyperlocal mobility. But this trend is part of a much larger urban change that has been going on for years. Some European cities, Like Copenhagen, where 90% of the citizens do not use a car in the city, have been combating the inefficiencies linked with automobile-centric city design for a long time. Other cities, like Paris and Barcelona, have more recently turned to innovative strategies, such as superblocks and 15 minute cities, that are designed to rapidly increase the spaces allocated to pedestrians and cyclists.
This evolution toward more sustainable and efficient city planning has progressed in the US as well. In Portland, more than 90% of residents will be able to walk or bike to meet all basic needs by 2030. In just over a decade, Detroit had increased the presence of bike lanes from just 13 miles to 240 miles. A huge part of making cities more livable for residents is the expansion of sidewalks, street connectivity, and general pedestrian access. Changes in city design that reallocate space to pedestrians and the types of transport made for short distances do much more than just take cars off the road. Union Square North in Manhattan saw a 49% decrease in retail vacancies after the installation of bicycle lanes and a new pedestrian plaza. Prioritizing the walkability of cities is more about accessibility than mobility. When people have an easier time getting around communities as a whole flourish.
Municipal efforts to develop tools that support the growth of micro-mobility must be matched by the companies looking to supply the bicycles, e-bikes, and scooters that will mobilize livable cities. As more people begin to rely on these vehicles for daily transportation, having nearby options for maintenance will become a growing necessity. In 2021, Levy began our effort to localize repairs. With almost 50 locations already active, our network of independently run service partners is the largest of any US based scooter company. As cities continue to get bigger, Levy is working to make them smaller by bringing our services closer through partnerships with the shops already in your communities.
If you are looking to get your scooter serviced reach out to us at support@levyelectric.com or submit a ticket at https://www.levyelectric.com/help. If we cannot walk you through a solution online or over the phone we can refer you to one of our service partners!
