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Mobility is the lifeblood of any city. How people are able to travel in, out and within a metropolitan area is vital to its citizens, businesses, supply chains and social services. And as U.S. cities have expanded in size and population density, the strategies for addressing mobility have evolved. Many have taken different approaches to public transit, and each city boasts a dense tapestry of roadways, walking paths and various parking options. But as cities continue to reexamine infrastructure strategies through smart city technology, a new field of transportation has emerged—micromobility.
Designed for short-distance travel using lightweight vehicles (bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, etc.), the industry’s global net worth has grown exponentially in recent years to the tune of hundreds of billions, with one forecast predicting it could reach $340 billion by 2030. Micromobility also finds itself at the forefront of various smart city technological improvements. Geofencing has been implemented in U.S. cities to determine where micromobility vehicles can operate, control speed limits, and park utilizing the vehicles’ GPS location. Internet of Things (IoT) technologies (satellite-based location receivers, cloud communication, internet links, etc.) have improved vehicle lifespans by keeping track of when vehicles require service and prevent vandalism and theft. Data collected from vehicles’ location tracking is routinely used for urban planning and smart city development.
The industry’s roots can be traced back to mid-twentieth century bike-sharing programs in the Netherlands and France. Not until the 2010 introduction of docked bike-sharing programs in Washington, DC, and Denver, among others, would it find a foothold in the United States. Soon thereafter, city streets were filled with dockless bikes and electric scooters, many of which could simply be activated with smartphone apps. Fast-forward to the present day, where more than 400 North American cities have at least one operating micromobility system. Integration of these systems into cities’ public transit infrastructure has produced hundreds of millions of trips annually.
The Upsides
While the micromobility industry is not equipped to fully replace private cars or public transit systems, it does offer a unique set of benefits that work in tandem with traditional transportation options, while also alleviating certain challenges of increased urbanization.
- The First-Mile/Last-Mile Gap: As anyone who has ever used a city bus or subway will attest, while these systems can be incredibly beneficial in traversing distances within a city, they can still require considerable walking if the transit station is far from a point of origin (the “first mile”) or a traveler’s intended destination (the “last mile”). Covering both potential distance gaps with micromobility options boosts the appeal of public transit by extending its reach and decreasing travel time.
- Lower the Environmental Footprint: As is the case with most smart city initiatives, micromobility also provides an environmental benefit. The transportation sector remains the U.S.’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, with the average passenger vehicle emitting 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Most micromobility options are not only gas-free, but their increased popularity puts fewer cars on city roads. The North American Bikeshare & Scootershare Association (NABSA) reported that, in 2024 alone, micromobility options offset approximately 101 million pounds of carbon emissions.
- Easing the Infrastructure: Private cars create traffic congestion, carry fewer passengers than public transit, and tie up parking spaces that could otherwise be used for community amenities. On top of the aforementioned benefits for public transit, micromobility offers an alternative to commuting and intra-city travel that decreases private car dependency and demands less road space and parking necessities—all of which help decrease city traffic congestion. According to NABSA’s 2024 Micromobility State of the Industry Report, 35% of all micromobility trips were used as a replacement for car trips.
On top of consistent growth post-COVID-19, the micromobility industry already has proven to be successful.
- Citi Bike, operating in a public-private partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation, is currently the largest bike-sharing system in the world outside of China, with more than 44 million rides provided in 2024.
- Divvy, the Chicago Department of Transportation’s micromobility program, first launched in 2013 and has seen sustained growth with more than 6.8 million bike and scooter trips in 2025 (making up nearly half of all trips on shared lightweight vehicles throughout the city). The program currently covers all 50 Chicago wards with more than 900 stations, many of which are deliberately located near public transit hubs.
- As one of the oldest and one of the first to expand into a multi-jurisdictional system, Washington, D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare program grew 79% from 2019–2024, with 6.1 million recorded rides in 2024.
The Challenges
As is the case with any growing industry, amid its sustained growth micromobility faces several legal hurdles, most of which center around government and legal systems slowly playing catch-up. The biggest hurdle remains a lack of consistent legal foundation in defining micromobility safety regulations.
Let’s say, hypothetically, you live in a city and want to start using an e-scooter for your daily commute to work. Even though it’s not a car, do you need a valid driver’s license? The answer would be yes in California, but no in Tennessee. What about a helmet? Plenty of states require you to wear one if you’re under a certain age, but Oregon requires everyone to wear one. Is the scooter limited to certain speeds? You can go up to 20 mph in Arizona, but you’ll need to cap it at 15 mph once you cross into California. Can you drive the e-scooter on sidewalks? More than a dozen states say no but, it’s fine in Florida and Texas. What kind of vehicle classification your e-scooter falls under can vary between states as well, and all of this is before considering local city laws and ordinances. In short, where and how you can use micromobility vehicles depends entirely on your location.
But the challenges branch beyond inconsistency. Othe examples include:
- Lacking infrastructure: For micromobility to continue its growth, many cities will have to reevaluate their infrastructure. Space for designated vehicle parking and charging stations is an obvious necessity, but most U.S. city streets are designed only with cars and pedestrians in mind, lacking the protected riding lanes that provide safe usage.
- Liability Questions: As of 2026, there is no uniform liability framework in the U.S. pertaining to incidents involving micromobility vehicles. Many insurance companies have opted to outright exclude coverage pertaining to them. Depending on the incident, the “at-fault” party may be one or more of the vehicle operators, the manufacturer of vehicle, and/or the municipality where the incident occurred.
While far from insurmountable, these challenges will require extensive work from city planners and lawmakers at the local, state and federal levels to meet the industry’s growing demand.
In the race for the next great innovation in U.S. metropolitan transportation, micromobility has the proverbial wind at its back. It survived its initial growing pains to become a promising wing of many cities’ departments of transportation, and is slowly giving cities relief from their constant traffic challenges. However, there is still plenty of work to be done from both regulatory and infrastructure perspectives—and there are still plenty of cities that have yet to climb aboard.
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