Life Cycle Assessment on Electric Moped Scooter Sharing

Due to their small size and low energy demand, light electric vehicles (LEVs), such as electric moped scooters, are considered as a space efficient and eco-friendly alternative for mobility in cities. However, the growth of electric moped scooter sharing services raises the question of how environmentally friendly this business model is, considering the entire lifecycle. Due to the dynamic market and insufficient availability of public data on the business processes of sharing services only a few studies on the impact of shared electric mopeds are available. Especially there is a lack of research on the impacts of key operational logistic parameters of the sharing system. This paper aims to fill this gap by conducting a life cycle assessment using the example of an electric moped scooter manufactured and used in sharing services in Germany, based on different operating scenarios. The results show that e-moped sharing has a similar environmental impact on global warming potential, in terms of passenger kilometers, as public transport, especially if long product lifetimes as well as efficient operation logistics are realized.

Automated summary

Light electric vehicles, such as electric moped scooters, are considered a space efficient and eco-friendly alternative for urban mobility, but there is limited research on their environmental impact throughout the lifecycle. A study in Germany showed that e-moped sharing services have a similar environmental impact on global warming potential in terms of passenger kilometers as public transport, especially when long product lifetimes and efficient operation logistics are realized.