A new report finds that Honolulu has more potential for micro-mobility than any other American city, primarily due to the prevalnce of car trips measuring less than 3 miles.
Micro-mobility vehicles can either be power-assisted, like electric scooters, or human powered like a bicycle.
Shared bikes have become a common site around urban Honolulu since the launch of the bikeshare service Biki more than two years ago.
Electric scooter rental company Lime briefly flooded some neighborhoods with its dock-less green scooters last May. The company suspended operations after a short-lived confrontation with city regulators over the use of public sidewalks and license fees.
A new reportfrom mobility analytics firm INRIX found that Honolulu has more potential for micro-mobility than any other American city, beating out heavyweights like New York, and San Francisco.
According to the analysis, more than 50 percent of car trips in Honolulu were under 3 miles, with 25 percent being less than a mile.
That was in contrast to more car-dependent cities like Dallas and Phoenix, where short trips were less common, making micro-mobility less effective in meeting residents' transportation needs.
The Honolulu City Council is currently considering Bill 44 , which would reserve public parking spots for shared micro-mobility companies to park their vehicles. That could potentially address concerns about the use of sidewalks, which derailed the launch of Lime scooters.
