Light electric vehicles (LEVs) have 1 to 4 wheels, are powered by a battery and generally weigh less than 200 lbs. (100 kg). These LEVs are allowing people to substitute their automobile for tour lengths between 0 and 15 miles with ease. They are small enough to be used in a 4-foot bike lane but strong enough to maintain speeds of 18 mph (30 km/h). Using the bike lane removes LEVs from automobile traffic and allows people to move efficiently and comfortably.

What is going on

Bird started as a dockless electric scooter sharing company in September 2017. It drops off e-scooters on sidewalks for rent in over 100 cities allowing people to rent them for $1 plus $0.15/min. Bird quickly rocketed to 10M rides covering 14M miles in less than a year. Today, over a billion dollars have already been invested in Bird and its competitors. New LEV forms are being distributed and new business models are being tested like franchising and scheduled delivery.

Shared vs owned

Riders use an app to find LEVs to ride, but devices can be too far away or broken when they are needed. If a rider completes a leg of a tour, it might be rented by someone else, so she will have to find another way to finish her tour home. Ownership is the only way to make sure the device is available all of the time. This is why less than 1% of personal automobiles on the road are shared. Unlike cars and bicycles which are sold through strong local dealership networks in the United States, LEVs are mostly purchased through the manufacturer’s website or on Amazon. Often including an offer of mailed delivery within days and optional financing.

The high demand of what was thought to be a toy, surprised the top e-scooter manufacturers Xiaomi and Ninebot Segway. As they tried to keep up with Bird and its competitors’ orders, personal orders went unfulfilled for months and sometimes were eventually cancelled. This unfulfillment is one reason for low ownership. LEVs come from multiple, mostly unknown manufacturers and in different forms untested by the purchaser. This mix creates an intimidating purchasing environment. Most people do not want to spend more than $400 to commit to a manufacturer and form when they are not sure how they will use it, how they will maintain it and, with a development cycle of roughly a year, how long this LEV will stay relevant.

Shared LEVs are used by multiple people of all different sizes and riding competencies every day. They are left outdoors in all weather conditions and have a team of chargers who move groups of them in vehicles of all sizes. As a result, LEV sharing companies are pushing manufacturers to produce LEVs with higher durability and longer charges. Manufacturers achieve these needs at the expense of size, weight and general portability. This is shown by Bird’s initial change of the Xiaomi Mi electric scooter was to remove the folding hinge from its neck to fix it in place making it more durable but less portable. After a year of operation, Bird designed and manufactured the first e-scooter produced strictly for dockless sharing, the Bird Zero, a heavier, taller, longer, wider, longer range e-scooter.

Sharing company demands contrast the demands of owners of personal e-scooters. Owners have more riding experience with a single device and will usually travel less than 12 miles a day. They need to walk up and down stairs, ride elevators, hop in and out of cars/trains/busses/(planes?) with their device. They value portability above length of charge and the high durability needed for multiple uses a day by novices and being left in the rain.

Other than the e-scooter

The e-scooter is not the only form these LEVs will take. E-bikes are now 1 in 3 new bikes sold in Germany, 1 in 2 in Holland, and are growing across the rest of Europe and the US. E-bikes allow for multiple new forms including delivery vehicles and child carriers. Bosch is currently the leading electric bike system (battery and motor) used in the top bicycle manufacturers. Unlike most LEVs, E-bikes are sold through the existing strong bicycle dealership networks within the US.

Other notable LEVs are less popular due to their difficulty to ride, like the e-board or the e-unicycle. We are only just beginning to realize the potential of combining a miniature motor with a miniature battery.