Dec. 6, 2007 -- Dense cities are notorious for traffic congestion and pollution. But now, an energy-efficient, compact scooter could offer a mass transit option almost as convenient as a car.
The electrically powered scooter folds to half its size, which could make it easier to park, store or carry onto subways or buses. City transportation authorities could make thousands of the scooters available to commuters at conveniently located, one-way rental racks -- similar to bicycle-share programs that have recently popped up in Lyon and Paris, France and other European cites.
"This vehicle provides a clean, green solution that has potentially very high utilization rates. If it's used a lot, it could reduce the need for private vehicles on the road," said Ryan Chin, design leader and Ph.D. candidate in media, arts and sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab.
Chin is part of the Media Lab's Smart Cities Group, and the scooter is an off-shoot of the group's City Car, a sharable, stackable electric concept car.
In many ways, the MIT electric scooter looks similar to a conventional one. It has two wheels, a frame, handlebars and a seat. But most scooters are gas-powered, so they have a tank, a combustion engine, a drive train, a clutch, a transmission and all the parts that go along with that setup -- about 1,000 in all.
MIT's scooter has just 150 parts. The electricity comes from a battery that gets recharged each time the vehicle is replaced to its rack. There is no conventional drive train, because the motorbike has specially designed wheels, each with their own motor and suspension system.
Fewer parts make the scooter cheaper and lighter. Although he has no cost estimates, Chin is confident the electric motorbike will be cheaper than a comparable gas-powered one. He also thinks the final vehicle will weigh around 85 pounds, as opposed to conventional scooters, which weigh about 265 pounds with fuel in the tank.
Fewer parts also free up the vehicle's design. The battery can be placed anywhere, and the frame can accommodate a joint that allows the bike to be folded to about the size of a medium piece of luggage.
The idea is that hundreds or thousands of these scooters could be provided in racks near subway stops, bus stations, convenience stores or parks. Riders would swipe a credit card to remove a vehicle from the rack, where it is charging. The commuter would eventually deposit the scooter at another rack at the end of their destination.
"I think any assistance in getting people out of driving a single-occupant vehicle is a good thing," said Paul DeMaio, owner of MetroBike, a bike-sharing consulting company based in Washington, D.C., and a blogger for the Bike-sharing Blog.
DeMaio is working with planners in D.C., which will introduce the country's first city-wide, bike-sharing program next spring. According to DeMaio, 120 bikes will be available to commuters. And although a fee has not yet been established, the bikes will be made available for free for the first 30 minutes.
Although DeMaio acknowledges the benefits of an electric scooter over a gas-powered one or even a car, he said that introducing a scooter might be more expensive than a bicycle. Furthermore, electric bikes tend to require more maintenance than pedal bikes, and they are heavier. Cities with bike-sharing programs must hire people and trucks to physically reallocate the distribution of bikes, as they tend to pile up in some locations versus others.
"With heavier vehicles, that means more energy is needed with trucks and vans to move these vehicles around from location to location," said DeMaio.
Chin and his team are collaborating with Sanyang Motors, a scooter manufacturer in Taiwan, and Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, and recently unveiled a prototype at the Milan Auto Show. They are also working to produce a simpler, non-folding scooter.
In the meantime, the group is speaking with transportation authorities from various cities, such as Taipei, to set up a partnership. Chin said they have not yet formalized a plan with anyone, but he knows what the ideal city would look like: congested, smoggy, with some public transportation infrastructure in place, and dense with people who both work and live in the city.
"We want to get this out there as soon as possible. If everyone is all for it ... I think we can manufacture this bike in one to two years," said Chin.
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