Bird Global, Lime and other ride-share scooter brands began taking over streets and sidewalks seemingly overnight.
They became a semi-viral sensation, even landing their own satire episode on the popular comedy show “South Park.”
But the model is quickly becoming unsustainable as sidewalks, entrances and bike racks everywhere become packed with various brands of electric scooters, which are becoming a nuisance as many cities have started banning them inside city limits.
Eli Electric Vehicles, a niche electric vehicle company, is on a mission to revolutionize the way people travel in urban environments. The company aims to solve the traffic and parking crises in America's biggest cities while helping in the fight against climate change. The startup recently launched an equity crowdfunding campaign, which means anyone can invest in this electric vehicle startup.
Electric scooters, which have become popular in recent years, only offer a partial solution to urban transportation problems. Many people are unwilling to use scooters in adverse weather conditions, and they are not suitable for transporting multiple people at once. Studies also have shown that electric scooters are not as environmentally friendly as they may seem, carrying carbon footprints as big as conventional cars and 3.5 times the size of electric vehicles.
Eli Electric has developed miniature electric cars to transport individuals or families around cities without parking or environmental headaches. The vehicles, which are slightly larger than golf carts, have aluminum body frames to minimize their weight and make them as nimble as possible. The two-seater cars have extra storage capacity and can carry parties of two, making it ideal for work commutes and higher capacity travel than scooters. With a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour, Eli ZERO cars are well-suited for inner-city travel.
The cars also have a much smaller carbon footprint than conventional cars, carrying only 7% of the carbon footprint of traditional vehicles. In comparison, electric vehicles like Tesla Inc.’s are more carbon-intensive to manufacture than gas guzzlers and only become more environmentally friendly after 20,000 miles driven.
While studies have shown electric vehicles help to reduce carbon emissions, it’s not by enough to meet the government's decarbonization goals. Transport remains the biggest source of CO2 emissions in the American economy, and electrifying transit, not just transport, is key to reducing emissions.
Studies have also shown that people are more likely to adopt environmentally friendly technology when it offers convenience and excitement, rather than as a result of environmental moralizing. Eli Electric's vehicles offer both of these benefits and could be an important part of the solution to urban transportation and climate change.
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