The electric kick scooters attract a large section of people including celebrities because they make the mobility process an easy one. With electric scooters are popping up in various parts of the world, leading taxi companies such as Uber and Lyft have started their ride-share revolution in order to reduce the carbon emissions. Are electric kick scooters are really safer one to drive? Many say that they are environmentally friendly one. However, there are some studies that tell about the impacts of electric kick scooters and everyone should know about them in detail.
What are the impacts?
The electric kick scooters have 4 main life cycle phases and the first two phases involve the manufacturing and the energy production. Then comes the use and maintenance of the scooter and the final phase is the end of life of the vehicle. Researchers say that each of these phases have different environmental impacts. Electric scooters are electric vehicles that can reduce the pollution levels to a large extent. Every electric vehicle has its own pros and cons that allow people to make a better decision while investing money.
Impacts of first and second phases
An electric kick scooter mainly uses a battery for electricity purposes. In the production phase, one should consider the energy consumption used to extract raw materials. Sometimes, the battery will also cause environmental problems during the assembling process. It is also necessary to consider the electricity usage while operating a scooter. If the electricity used for a scooter is an ecological one then, the environmental impacts will be lower. When a scooter utilizes fossil fuels, it will lead to greenhouse effects. Therefore, the first and two phases are crucial in electric kick scooter during the production process.
Impacts of third and fourth phases
Although electric kick scooters don’t pollute much, they need more recharging stations which is not possible. They are not an ideal one for long distance and require some other transport modes for reaching a nearby charging station. This will impact overall math significantly and users should consider them before buying a model. Finally, users should consider recycling of scooters because most of them are usually made from non-polluting materials. Hence, it is imperative to take care of the batteries properly to recycle them with ease. Also, the life span of a scooter is about 1year, a battery may become diluted. Another thing is that it not possible to restore the conditions of a vehicle when it gets broken or damaged.