We are in the midst of transformational times. The acceleration of several trends in various sectors due to COVID-19 has created an immediate need for building new services and products that can serve the new “normal.” One of the major trends gathering momentum prior to 2020 predicted to explode post-COVID is known as “micromobility”.

Although the word is self-explanatory at face-value, the micromobility movement has historically faced some obstacles because both consumers and businesses struggle to truly define the new model of transportation. Horace Dediu over at micromobility.io provided a concise definition: “micromobility is personal mobility whose utility is to move its occupant. Its purpose is thus to offer maximum freedom of mobility and its minimalism is to do so in the least impactful way. Its minimalism means it needs to leave no trace of itself and ask the least for itself.” Another, more quantitative definition is “any vehicles whose gross weight is less than 500 kg.” In other words, the defining characteristics of micromobility is that it is any form of transportation that provides maximum mobility at a micro, individual level whilst creating the most minimalist footprint of itself. That last part is what truly defines this novel sector and captures the imagination of those with an eye on the future. Ultimately, micromobility could be the key to reduce the strain on our cities, and consequently, on our world.

At the same time, micromobility has also been largely defined by the simplicity and fun that its devices tend to inspire. Users don’t require any special talent to wield a micromobility device like an electric scooter, and yet at any time, one only has to spin their handle, “rev their engine,” and zoom towards their destination. These devices tend to be easy to fold away and at home, don’t take up too much space (as opposed to your car, which has a whole room dedicated to it). Most users who have adopted micromobility got their first taste of this movement by renting a device and purchased their own after experiencing both the efficiency of transportation and whimsical fun of the devices. Now that the early adopters have embraced micromobility, we are starting to see people apply these devices to more, standard, everyday use such as traveling to work or bouncing from meeting to meeting. However, it’s important to highlight that at its heart, the micromobility movement began with shared scooters, and users who simply wanted to have some fun, zoom around, and “rev their engine.”

Now that we have a less ambiguous idea of what micromobility is, the next question is what is private micromobility? Let’s start with defining what private micromobility isn’t. It is not the rental fleets of electric scooters that have been deployed in metro areas all over the world. It is instead, the next step in the movement, which is devices like those electric scooters that are instead owned by a person, as opposed to shared and “disposable.” Currently, most people are familiar with the “disposable” scooter model mentioned above, which has been popularized by services like Lime. This is the model in which a user can locate a scooter, rent it on a mobile app, use it to transport themselves to their destination, and then leave the vehicle wherever they decide to for the next user to pick up. However, the popularity of the shared model has led to an increase in individuals purchasing their own vehicles, especially in Europe. The perfect case study for this can be found in Spain, where studies estimated 100,000 personal mobility devices in the country, with e-scooters accounting for 60% of those devices.

Where does Boongaloo come in? Well, as I’m sure many of you realized as you read through the article, because the current most widespread model of micromobility is the shared, use-and-leave rentals, there is no infrastructure in place for those personal mobility devices that have begun to pop up in the hands of the private owners in European cities like Malaga. Unlike bicycles — which have a long history in European cities and are taken into consideration in discussions around infrastructure, parking areas, and development — electric scooters have little to no support. Boongaloo’s goal is to create the physical parking infrastructure for these devices, and just as crucially, create the digital and mobile systems that will allow users to get the full value of their private mobility devices, and ultimately, drive the shift towards smart cities and sustainable models for metropolitan areas.

For more information, please visit http://www.boongaloo.com

The original article was written by me and posted on the Boongaloo medium page, which you can check out here, https://medium.com/@Boongaloo/what-is-micromobility-b4eb14f28a89