Microtransportation: A sustainable solution for urban mobility challenges

Microtransportation, including e-bikes and e-scooters, has experienced rapid global growth due to increasing demand for sustainable urban mobility solutions. Despite its potential to reduce environmental impact and promote social equity, challenges remain in its implementation, such as regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, and user behavior. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of microtransportation within the context of sustainable development, offering a comprehensive overview of present research and identifying potential areas for future investigation and practice. A systematic literature review was conducted, analyzing recent scientific articles and case studies on microtransportation’s definition and types, along with its environmental, social, and economic implications. The findings highlight microtransportation’s potential to contribute to sustainable development goals by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving accessibility, and promoting social equity. However, the implementation of microtransportation faces various challenges, including technological limitations, regulatory barriers, and cultural and behavioral resistance. This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on sustainable transportation by providing a comprehensive review of microtransportation and its potential role in achieving sustainable development goals. It emphasizes the need for further research on the social and cultural dimensions of microtransportation adoption, as well as the development of supportive policies and infrastructure. The findings have important implications for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working to promote sustainable transportation. Successful implementation of microtransportation requires collaboration among stakeholders, including governments, private sector actors, and local communities. The paper also provides recommendations for overcoming the identified challenges and realizing the full potential of microtransportation for sustainable development.