Many cities are partnering withescooterproviders to get cars out of their landscapes.
This week, Voi released a report onShared escooters and gender equity.
It reveals a significant disparity in the way men and women experience escooters with the latter losing out.
Women new to escooters want parks and car-free spaces to safely learn to ride in.
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I think this is a great idea.
Tier held such a session for women in Berlin.
For example, GPS-controlled geofenced areas cap the maximum speed of escooters at a lower rate than normal.
However, many of these initiatives negatively impact women.
Research participants cited the dangers of riding into slow zones with unexpected deceleration.
However, this is not the only safety challenge for women.
So this could also be an option for hire-schemes.
Escooters are designed for men
The typical escooter today is designed for a default man.
This creates barriers for use for women who are responsible for shopping or transporting children.
You cant solve problems until you understand them.
But women arent the only population being underserved by escooter hiring.
Id also like to see comparative research tackle the experiences of people with disabilities.
Theres also the issue of racism in how escooter use is policed.
Researchlast year by Vice revealed that police target black electric scooter-riders at a disproportionately higher rate than white people.
But we dont need another document to gather dust on someones shelf.
Efforts to design and execute solutions for women should definitely be a part of any micromobility tender criteria.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
