Against all expectations, self-service electric scooters are degrading Paris's carbon footprint.
This is revealed by a recent study published in the
Journal of Cleaner Production
, an international academic journal specializing in industrial ecology.
Conclusion: the small electric vehicles in circulation in the French capital alone emitted 13,000 tonnes of CO2 in one year.
Which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 16,000 French people, specify the authors
Read also: How the authorities stemmed the scooter rodeos on the Champs-Élysées
To carry out this study, the co-authors Anne de Bortoli and Zoi Christoforou based themselves on the use of the scooter of a sample of 500 people in Paris, during the summer of 2019. “
We extrapolated our results to 1 million d ' users in Paris, before calculating what that would represent for a year,
”explains Anne de Bortoli to
Le Figaro
.
The main defect of the two-wheeled electric vehicle is in its components.
“
The carbon footprint of their aluminum frame and lithium-ion battery is very heavy,
” explains the scientist.
They need a long enough lifespan to offset their initial carbon footprint.
However, to carry out their study, the two researchers based themselves on a lifespan "
of one year for 3750 km
", that is to say a very broad estimate.
Another American study does not give them more than 28 days to live.
Fleet management is also problematic.
Scooters must indeed be maintained and recharged.
“
Diesel powered vans often come from the inner suburbs to do this,
” she adds.
The scooter replaces low-emission modes of transport
The other flaw of these electric devices is their use.
The study reveals that, in two thirds of cases, they replace the metro and RER and, in a quarter of cases, replace walking and cycling.
“
It is very rare that they replace the car.
However, a scooter emits 109g of CO2 per km, the car 200g (for a passenger), while the metro and the RER emit between 8 and 10g, and the bicycle, 15g,
”explains Anne de Bortoli.
“
It is also linked to public transport which is very low in carbon in Paris.
In other countries like the United States, the results of the scooter are better
”, concedes the researcher.
So should we put an end to “
free floating
”
scooters
?
"
No
", answers the scientist.
These new modes of transport still have some virtues: “
some Parisians do not take public transport because they live too far from the station.
In this scenario, scooters can solve the problem of the last mile and therefore encourage Parisians to take the metro rather than the car,
”she illustrates.
Solutions are possible by "
playing on sustainability and fleet management
", continues Anne de Bortoli
.
“
We could also consider stations to park them, in order to limit trips to maintain and charge them,
” she suggests.
To read also: Olivier Rey: "Ecology is not limited to the scooter and the wind turbines"
Self-service electric scooters took to the streets of Paris in June 2018, with the arrival of the American start-up Lime, followed by its competitors Bird, Bolt, Wind ... The density of the capital - one of the strongest in Europe - and its often saturated public transport have made the City of Light an ideal land for
free-floating
scooters
.
