136 Million Rides and Counting: E-Scooter, Shared Bikes Gaining Riders Until the Pandemic Hit

"Shared bikes and e-scooters saw 136 million trips in 2019, up 60% from 2018, according to new figures released by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)," reports Chris Teale.

Of those trips, most were short. In 2019, micromobility trips averaged between 11  and 12 minutes and 1 to 1.5 miles in distance. "The organization said those figures are key as 35% of car trips in the U.S. are less than 2 miles, so shifting more trips to bikes and scooters could help ease issues like congestion, road safety and emissions," according to Teal.

Like every other transportation mode, micromoblility ridership has declined dramatically during the pandemic, so similar numbers won't be possible. But, as made clear an article explaining the findings of the new report posted on the organization's website, NACTO believes that microbobility will outlast the pandemic with continued support from local and state governments. 

Over the past decade, and especially in 2020, we’ve also seen that the most successful systems are the ones where there is strong, reliable partnership between the city and operator. These partnerships create and support equitable distribution requirements, free and reduced fees for essential workers, and general system reliability, and other policies that are essential to meet city health, equity, mobility, sustainability, and resilience goals.