An e-scooter or electric kick scooter is an electric

motorized scooter A motorized scooter is a stand-up Kick scooter, scooter powered by either a small internal combustion engine or electric Wheel hub motor, hub motor in its front and/or rear wheel. Classified as a form of micromobility, they are generally designed ...

– a stand-up scooter powered by an electric

hub motor A wheel hub motor, hub motor, or in-wheel motor is a motor that is incorporated into the hub of the wheel. Wheel-hub motors are commonly found on electric bicycles. Electric hub motors were well received in early electric cars, but have not bee ...

in its front and/or rear wheel. It is generally designed with a large center deck on which the rider stands. They are classified as a form of

micromobility Micromobility refers to a range of small, lightweight vehicles, driven by users personally. Micromobility devices include bicycles, velomobiles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycle fleets, and electric ...

; e-scooters are included in scooter-sharing systems that use apps to allow users to rent them by the minute. Such systems are now are in major and mid-sized cities all over the world. Boy on electric scooter 5988226382 e289654724 z

Boy on electric scooter 5988226382 e289654724 z

Parts and other features

Parts of an electric scooter include the deck,

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

, handlebars,

tire A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineeri ...

s, suspension, lights, batteries, brakes, controller and motor. E-scooters usually have two wheels between in diameter, connected by a platform on which the rider stands, with a handlebar for support and steering. There are three types of tires: *Pneumatic (air-filled) tires. *Solid tires. *Hollow tires are made of durable rubber. It is propelled by an

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

, which makes

gears A gear or gearwheel is a rotating machine element, machine part typically used to transmit rotation, rotational motion and/or torque by means of a series of teeth that engage with compatible teeth of another gear or other part. The teeth can ...

unnecessary. It may support energy recovery by

regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...

. Range and speed vary considerably according to model. One reference shows ranges of , and maximum speeds from .

Scooter sharing

In 2017, some bicycle-sharing companies such as

Lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

, and some scooter-only companies such as

Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

, began offering dock-less electric kick

scooter sharing A scooter-sharing system or kicksharing system is a shared transport service in which Motorized scooter, electric motorized scooters (also referred to as e-scooters) are made available to use for short-term rentals. E-scooters are typically "doc ...

services. This segment of the micro-mobility market made large inroads in 2018, with numerous dock-less e-scooters appearing in cities worldwide. Transport mode shift from car to shared e-scooter ranges from 8% in France to 50% in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, United-States.

Safety and legality

Safety

E-scooters are a potentially environmentally friendly alternative personal mode of transportation that has appeal in urban settings and for short distances. However, they are not exempt from the vulnerabilities users may encounter in road traffic injuries similar to exposures pedestrians and bicyclists have shared the roads. In Europe, before 2024, the majority of crashes do not involved another vehicle while 80% of e-scooter rider deaths and 50% of trauma patients’ injuries result from crashes that involve a heavier motor vehicle. In France, between 2019 and 2022, a 185% increase of e-scooter riders were admitted in trauma centres. https://road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/6ed38dab-eb7c-42e0-a4a7-06bdd20677ec_en?filename=ERSO-TR-PersonalMobilityDevices-20241217.pdf

Legality

References