The micromobility space confronted both opportunities and obstacles in 2022. While ridership grew, a number of shared micromobility providers faced economic challenges that shook up the industry. The coming year could see those issues escalate, even if micromobility proves to be the future of urban transportation, according to researchers and transportation professionals…

In 2023, “we’re going to see a huge increase in micromobility ownership and usage, which includes subscriptions and shared [services],” said Wei Fan, director of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education. Fan credits the semiconductor shortage, rising energy prices and growing eco-consciousness as forces behind the shift. But cities must address accessibility and infrastructure concerns to ensure micromobility’s success, researchers and transportation professionals said.