The last mile predicament
Which form will win out in the battle for multi-modal supremacy?
Recently, I wrote about the new Motocompacto transforming scooter from Honda. Some may view the product as nothing more than a gimmick or an opportunity to cash in on some 80s nostalgia for those who never got to own the original version.
And yeah, it kinda looks silly. But don’t all new forms of transportation look pretty silly? Even if this thing doesn’t sell well at all, could it be an extremely important product in the evolution of global transportation?
Think I’m exaggerating? Let’s take a quick look at some of the competing form factors that are attempting to solve that crucial first and last mile travel equation.
Shared bikes or e-bikes
This seems like the obvious answer right? A bike has a lot of things going for it and has been used for centuries. A bike can easily expand the radius that people are willing to travel around their homes without a car. And if you add a battery and a motor to the equation, it’s even better.
I’ve written plenty of times about how an e-bike has really changed the way that I’ve gotten around the past few years. And obviously I’m not the only one. The e-bike industry is huge and growing across the globe. If you need to get to a train station or bus stop fast, it may be the best option.
But what do you do when you get there? The Dutch have mastered the art of the “bike-to-train” travel mode. You can just ride right up to the train station on your personal bike. Then you can lock it up securely at the station to ride it home when you return.
And what if you need another bike when you arrive at your destination train station? Why there are plenty of affordable rental bikes you can take to make the last leg of your journey. The entire OV Fiets experience is regulated by the same system and can be charged to the same card on file with several transit pass options available.
Does a system like this work outside of the Netherlands? Eh, not so much. The two best examples in the US would be New York and San Francisco (not coincidentally also the two most densely populated metros in the country). Connecting a New York Subway ride to a Citi Bike rental station is certainly doable. But there is still the challenge of finding appropriate docking stations when you arrive at your destination. And even when there have been attempts at dockless bike rentals, the cost can end up being prohibitive for many people.
I have even more experience using the Bay Wheels bike share system in San Francisco. It’s a really solid system but still has plenty of “dead zones” where you can’t find a bike or dock the bike you’re currently riding. And like most other things, the prices on the bike rentals keep going up. I remember being one of the lucky folks who took advantage of the unlimited yearly bike rentals when the system first launched. Those days are over and the prices will never be that affordable again.
And if you do take your own bike to the train station. You better be prepared to properly secure it. With bike theft becoming a sad fact of life in many parts of the world, sometimes the risk of leaving your bike at a station outweighs the convenience.
Taking your bike aboard public transportation
Ok, so how about you just take your bike or e-bike onto the train or bus? That seems easy enough right? It can be if everything goes smoothly. If you’re riding transit during “non-peak” hours maybe there will be plenty of room to roll your bike onboard. Most commuter trains have places to store your bike while you ride. But this becomes a lot harder during rush hours. So much so that some transit authorities have outlawed bikes onboard during traditional commute times.
And buses can be even more complicated. Many modern buses allow for bikes to be stored on a rack on the front. But if that rack is already full when the bus pulls up, you’re out of luck. Some larger commuter buses allow for bikes to be stored underneath the cabin but the same space constraints exist. It can also be really stressful trying to load a heavy bike on a bus while the bus driver and passengers impatiently look at their watch. And even if your bike folds up, maybe buses won’t be ok with you bringing it into the passenger area. And if it is allowed, is to too heavy to easily carry?
e-Bikes complicate matters even further. Some transit authorities disallow electric bikes of all kinds onboard their buses for fear of battery fires. Some can’t take ebikes over a very modest weight limit. Golden Gate Transit in my own neck of the woods currently allows electric bikes only on buses that have front racks rather than bike storage in the luggage undercarriage. The biggest problem with this is that you never know which type of bus will pull up when you have your e-bike ready to board! This is a problem I’ve witness firsthand more than once. It’s crapshoot whether you’ll be able to get your bike safely home or not, and that’s not a suitable form of transit.
The Electric Scooter
Behold, the electric scooter may be that perfect vehicle to take us from home to the bus or train and back safely. They don’t have the stability of a bicycle, but they make up for that with their portability.
The humble kick scooter has become somewhat of a punching bag when people criticize shared urban mobility. I personally loved the recurring gag of Seth Rogen destroying rental scooters on the streets of L.A. in the show “Platonic”.
But once you get over the initial skepticism, an electric scooter that easily folds up could possibly be the best form of multi-modal transportation. No, you can’t use it to haul a week’s worth of groceries or to take your kid to school, but those tasks are perfect for an electric cargo bike.
And many of these scooters are lightweight enough to easily carry onto a bus or train. When car shares are your only option, it’s simple to put a folding scooter into any car that shows up via Uber or Lyft. There may be a slight trade-off in ride quality to achieve the lighter weight, but that seems like a great deal in many cases. If you’re just traveling a mile or two to reach a public transportation hub, the electric scooter may be the holy grail.
So while I patiently wait to learn more about the availability of the Honda Motocompacto, I may be better served to pick up a folding electric scooter like the Unagi One Voyager. It may cost a bit more than Honda’s option, but it weighs ten pounds less, gives you more power and range, and arguably looks a lot cooler. Throw in the fact that they have an Oakland-based support center for repairs, and an Unagi scooter may be the best way to shuttle yourself between all of the Bay Area’s public transportation options.
Are there any other multi-modal options that I’m missing?
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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