International
World Micromobility News: Articles of interest to our readers pertaining to the latest news, views and trends overseas.
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How Bicycle Frames Could Become Batteries
Unpacking the USA’s Bike-Sharing and Ebike Boom
Book Review: Cycling for Sustainable Cities
Canada’s Historic First Federal Funding of Cycling Infrastructure
Lime’s New Features Should Reduce Hiring Stress
Australia’s Turn Next?
German Sales Point to Future Growth Potential in Australia
Critical Missing Link Approved for New Zealand’s Capital
New Zealand’s national capital of Wellington has a greater urban area population of 429,700 in 2020, but due to its extremely hilly terrain and limited land, being surrounded by ocean on three sides, only half of these people, 215,100 to be exact, live in the city of Wellington itself.
The other half live in nearby urban areas including Lower Hutt and Porirua.
Also due to this extremely rugged terrain, a single four lane motorway is the only main road that links Wellington to the rest of New Zealand.
Currently there is no separated cycle route along this main road, that has been built on a narrow strip of in some places reclaimed land, wedged between the mountains and the sea. The only space for cyclists is the shoulder of what is an extremely busy high speed road.
E-Scooter Racing World Circuit Gathers Momentum
Not many people would wish to hit speeds in excess of 100kph on a transport device with no roll cage, completely open to the elements and riding on 16 centimetre wheels travelling just a few centimetres off the ground. This is, however, what anyone taking a trip on an eSkootr S1X racing e-scooter can look forward to.
The eSkootr S1X has been created for the planned eSkootr Championship (eSC) which will start towards the end of the year. The races will be conducted on specially built circuits – concrete seams and cracks in pavement would not do at these speeds on a ride with such tiny wheels – in city parks, streets or within stadiums.
Paris is Re-Proving ‘Build it and They Will Come!’
Cycling advocates around the world know that if they can overcome entrenched resistance and actually get protected facilities installed, the riders will come.
Now a recent study by the Paris city government has found that new cyclists account for almost six in ten users of pop-up cycle lanes in Paris, installed first in response to a public transport strike last winter with the network subsequently enlarged due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The study also revealed that prior to the pop-up bike lanes being put in place, women made up 36 per cent of cyclists in Paris, which has now risen to 41 per cent.