The Micromobility Problem No One's Talking About

Micromobility is booming. Cities are packed with e-scooters and e-bikes, promising a greener, more efficient way to get around. But there’s a problem no one’s paying attention to: what happens to their batteries when they die?

These vehicles are supposed to be a win for sustainability — but their batteries? Not so much.

They wear out too fast, recycling options are limited, and the supply chain behind them isn’t as clean as advertised. Add in inefficient charging and gig workers hauling dead scooters in gas-powered vans, and suddenly, micromobility isn’t looking so eco-friendly.

Today, I'll unpack the battery problem that could derail micromobility’s green promise:

• Battery waste is piling up — and no one knows where to put it.
• Mining for lithium, cobalt, and nickel is anything but sustainable.
• Charging infrastructure is a mess, making fleets harder to manage.
• Can battery swapping actually fix this? Some cities are betting on it.

E-scooters and e-bikes aren’t going anywhere. But if we don’t rethink their power source, we might be trading one environmental problem for another.

Micromobility’s dirty secret — the battery problem

E-scooters and e-bikes are sold as the future of green transportation—zero emissions, energy-efficient, and a fix for urban congestion. But here’s the reality: up to 95% of lithium-ion batteries never get recycled.

I know, the number sounds incredible. Here's a good read on that topic. While some sources say that up to 59% lithium-ion batteries get recycled, I wouldn't so easily make that claim.

The problem isn’t just about how these vehicles are charged. It’s the entire battery life cycle.

From mining and manufacturing to disposal and replacement, micromobility batteries come with some hidden environmental and ethical costs that few people talk about.

Batteries don’t last as long as you think

Unlike electric car batteries, which can last 8–15 years, micromobility batteries typically fail within 1–3 years. The reasons?

• High turnover usage – Shared e-scooters and e-bikes get way more charge cycles per year than personal vehicles, wearing out their batteries much faster.
• Deep discharges – Unlike EVs, which are carefully managed to extend battery health, e-scooter batteries are often drained to near zero before being recharged, accelerating degradation.
• Heat and damage – Batteries left outside in extreme temperatures degrade quickly, and micromobility vehicles frequently suffer crashes, further shortening battery life.

A 2022 study by MDPI found that most micromobility batteries need replacement after just 300-500 charge cycles — a fraction of the lifespan of an EV battery. And when they fail, they don’t always end up in the right place.

Where do dead batteries go?

Here’s the ugly truth: most micromobility batteries aren’t being recycled properly.

• Recycling rates are shockingly low – Less than 5% of lithium-ion batteries worldwide are properly recycled.
• Toxic waste buildup – When batteries aren’t disposed of correctly, heavy metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel can leak into soil and water, creating long-term contamination.
• Battery fires are a growing risk – Improper disposal or damaged batteries can lead to thermal runaway—the cause of rising e-scooter battery fires in landfills and waste processing centers.

Recent incidents, including fires at battery recycling plants and e-scooter storage facilities, highlight the dangers of improper disposal. In some cases, lithium-ion batteries have even been classified as hazardous waste due to their fire risk.

The recycling problem

Recycling lithium-ion batteries should be the obvious solution. But it’s a logistical, financial, and regulatory nightmare.

• It’s not profitable – Extracting valuable materials from used batteries is more expensive than mining new ones. Companies have little financial incentive to recycle.
• Recycling facilities are limited – The world simply doesn’t have enough facilities equipped to properly process lithium-ion batteries at scale.
• Micromobility companies aren’t required to recycle – Unlike EV makers, e-scooter and e-bike providers don’t face strict regulations on battery disposal, leading to inconsistent recycling efforts.

And here’s the real kicker: once these batteries hit the landfill, they don’t just disappear. The EPA warns that improperly disposed lithium-ion batteries leak toxic heavy metals into soil and water, creating long-term contamination risks

Micromobility claims to be a car killer — but if its batteries keep ending up as toxic waste, what’s the point?

Until cities and companies get serious about recycling, battery innovation, and actual sustainability, e-scooters and e-bikes won’t be as “green” as they claim.

Why charging micromobility fleets is a mess?

E-scooters and e-bikes are supposed to be an efficient, sustainable alternative to cars. But there’s one big problem — keeping them charged is anything but efficient.

Right now, charging fleets is a logistical disaster. Most companies rely on gig workers driving gas-powered vans to hunt down low-battery scooters, haul them away, charge them overnight, and dump them back on the streets.

Sound sustainable? Not even close.

The result? A system that’s wasteful, costly, and completely undermines the whole “green transportation” pitch.

Until charging is smarter, faster, and actually sustainable, micromobility is just swapping tailpipe emissions for a different kind of waste.

The gig economy model is broken

Most shared e-scooter and e-bike companies don’t have centralized charging stations. Instead, they outsource the job to gig workers — also known as “juicers” or “chargers” — who pick up low-battery scooters, charge them at home, and return them to the streets.

Sounds convenient, right? Not really.

• It’s wildly inefficient – Gig workers often drive around in gas-powered cars collecting scooters that need a charge, creating more emissions than the scooters save.
• Workers compete for scooters – Since most companies pay per scooter charged, gig workers race each other to grab as many as possible — leading to more driving and wasted energy.
• Inconsistent fleet availability – Because charging depends on when and where gig workers collect scooters, cities often wake up to random scooter shortages, making the service unreliable.

This isn’t just a sustainability problem — it’s a business problem too.

A 2022 MDPI study found that inefficient fleet charging drives up operating costs, forcing micromobility companies to burn through funding faster just to keep their fleets running.

At this point, micromobility isn’t running on clean energy — it’s running on chaos. Until companies fix their charging strategy, e-scooters will stay stuck in a sustainability paradox.

Why micromobility companies stick to this model

If it’s so inefficient, why do companies still use gig workers to charge their fleets?

It's simple — because it’s cheap.

• No need to build charging infrastructure – By outsourcing charging, companies save millions in infrastructure costs.
• On-demand labor – Instead of hiring full-time staff, companies rely on flexible gig workers who only get paid when they charge.
• Faster expansion – Without the need for charging docks, micromobility companies can expand into new cities much faster than if they had to build permanent charging stations.

But cheap doesn’t mean sustainable. The gig economy model is great for short-term growth, but it’s not built for long-term efficiency — or real sustainability.

Right now, charging e-scooters is often dirtier than just taking a car. If micromobility is going to be a real climate solution, companies need to rethink fleet charging by:

✅ Investing in dock-based or battery-swapping stations to eliminate inefficient collection.

✅ Shifting to electric or cargo-bike-based collection fleets instead of gas-powered vans.

✅ Optimizing battery management to reduce unnecessary charging and fleet movement.

Until then, the so-called “green” micromobility movement will keep running on gasoline.

How much electricity do micromobility fleets actually use?

One of the biggest misconceptions about micromobility is that charging a fleet of e-scooters and e-bikes is a small energy draw.

In reality, powering thousands of vehicles per city adds up fast.

A 2023 MDPI study found that:

• A single shared e-scooter uses about 1.5-2 kWh per full charge, meaning a fleet of 10,000 scooters, each traveling an average of 25km per day, consumes 3,750-5,000 kWh per day.
• This is comparable to the daily electricity use of more than 150 households — and demand is growing as fleets expand.
• Without dedicated charging hubs, scooters are often left to charge on random power sources, creating grid inefficiencies and higher energy waste.

If micromobility is going to scale without overloading city power grids, cities need smarter solutions.

Is solar-powered charging the answer?

What could be a better way? Solar-powered charging stations.

Instead of plugging into the grid, these docks generate their own power, keeping fleets charged with zero emissions. Some cities are already testing it out, and the results are promising.

🔋 Lower electricity costs – Washington, D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare installed solar-powered docks, cutting energy costs and taking pressure off the grid. The city even threw $375,000 in funding at the idea to expand solar e-bike charging.

🚲 More reliable fleets – No more half-dead scooters cluttering the sidewalks. WE-cycle, a bikeshare program, expanded from two to seven solar charging stations, and suddenly, fully charged e-bikes were actually available when people needed them.

🌍 Fewer emissions – Right now, charging fleets still relies on energy that isn’t always green. Solar stations cut out the middleman, slashing micromobility’s carbon footprint. A study found that solar-powered e-bikes could hit net-zero emissions just by avoiding fossil-fuel-based grid power.

Cities like Washington, D.C., and Regensburg, Germany, are already proving this works. And Zeus Scooters just rolled out solar-powered wireless charging stations in Europe to make their fleets even greener.

Can battery swapping fix the problem?

What if instead of charging e-scooters and e-bikes the old-fashioned way, you could just swap out the battery in seconds?

That’s the promise of battery swapping — a solution that could fix micromobility’s biggest headaches: fleet downtime, inefficient charging, and dead scooters cluttering sidewalks.

Instead of waiting for vehicles to charge, riders or fleet operators can quickly swap in a fresh battery and keep moving.

Several cities and companies are already testing battery-swapping stations — and the results are promising.

How battery swapping works

Imagine never having to wait for an e-scooter or e-bike to charge. Instead, you pull up to a station, swap out the dead battery for a fully charged one, and you’re back on the road in seconds.

That’s battery swapping — and it could be the key to fixing micromobility’s biggest inefficiencies.

Step 1: Drop off the depleted battery

Riders or fleet operators bring a scooter or e-bike with a low battery to a swap station. Instead of plugging it in and waiting, they simply remove the dead battery and place it into an available charging dock.

Step 2: Grab a fully charged battery

The station instantly releases a fresh, fully charged battery, ready to go. The entire process takes under a minute, compared to hours of charging time in traditional fleet models.

Step 3: Get back on the road

With a quick swap, the micromobility vehicle is back in action — no downtime, no waiting, no hassle. This makes it ideal for:

✅ Riders – They can quickly exchange a battery instead of hunting for a charged scooter.

✅ Fleet operators – Companies like Lime and Tier can keep their fleets running without relying on gig workers driving around collecting scooters.

✅ Cities – Less clutter from dead scooters littering sidewalks means cleaner, more efficient streets.

Who’s leading the charge?

The concept of battery swapping isn’t just theoretical—it’s already being tested at scale:

• Gogoro (Taiwan) – The world’s most successful battery-swapping network, handling over 500,000 swaps per day. Gogoro’s battery stations are now being adopted for micromobility in Europe and North America.
• Tier (Europe) – The company launched battery swap kiosks in major cities, allowing riders to swap batteries themselves instead of waiting for fleet workers to charge vehicles.
• Lime (U.S.) – Lime is piloting swappable battery tech in select markets to improve fleet efficiency and reduce downtime.

Why some cities are betting big on swapping

For cities looking to make micromobility more reliable and sustainable, battery swapping is a no-brainer:

🔋 More uptime, fewer dead scooters – Vehicles stay on the road longer, improving fleet efficiency.

🚗 Fewer gas-powered collection vans – Swapping eliminates the need for gig workers to drive around collecting scooters.

🌍 Lower emissions & better sustainability – Cities can actually call their micromobility programs “green.”

Taipei, Taiwan — The gold standard for battery swapping

Taipei is home to Gogoro’s battery-swapping network, the world’s largest and most successful implementation of the technology.

✅ Over 2,500 swap stations across Taiwan, making battery replacement as easy as refueling a gas-powered scooter.

✅ More than 400,000 swaps happen daily, eliminating the need for gig workers to collect and charge e-scooters.

✅ Up to 95% uptime for vehicles using swappable batteries, significantly improving fleet efficiency.

Taipei’s model is so effective that Gogoro is now expanding battery swapping to cities in India, Indonesia, and Europe.

Berlin, Germany — Tier’s self-service battery swap stations

Berlin has embraced rider-based battery swapping, a concept led by Tier Mobility, one of Europe’s largest micromobility providers.

✅ Tier introduced battery swap kiosks where riders can swap dead batteries themselves, earning free ride credits in return.

✅ Fleet uptime increased by 60%, since vehicles don’t have to be collected for charging.

✅ A 30% drop in fleet-related emissions, as the need for gas-powered vans collecting scooters was drastically reduced.

Tier is now expanding this model across other major European cities, including Paris and Vienna, proving that swapping works at scale.

Paris, France — Swapping to comply with new regulations

Paris, which recently banned shared e-scooters from sidewalks, is pushing micromobility operators to improve fleet management.

✅ Battery swapping helps operators comply with new fleet availability and street clutter regulations.

✅ Swappable battery stations reduce sidewalk clutter, as dead scooters no longer pile up in high-use areas.

✅ Lower maintenance costs for micromobility providers, making fleet operations more financially sustainable.

Paris is also looking at integrating battery swapping into public transit hubs, making it easier for riders to switch between modes of transportation.

Micromobility needs a battery fix — Now

Micromobility is supposed to be the clean, smart alternative to cars — but right now, its battery problem is holding it back. Short battery lifespans, inefficient charging, and a dirty supply chain are keeping the industry from delivering on its sustainability promise.

If micromobility is going to be a real player in the future of urban transport, cities and companies need to step up.

What needs to happen next?

The micromobility industry, policymakers, and cities all need to take action. Fast.

✅ Build smarter charging infrastructure – Cities should invest in solar-powered charging stations and integrated charging hubs at transit centers. (per ITF/OECD recommendations)

✅ Expand battery swapping programs – Companies should follow the lead of Gogoro, Tier, and Lime by deploying more swap stations for seamless energy management. (per industry reports)

✅ Enforce responsible battery sourcing – Governments need stricter regulations on battery materials, ensuring that lithium, cobalt, and nickel mining meet ethical and environmental standards. (per EU policy documents)

✅ Improve battery recycling & second-life programs – Only 5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled today—that number needs to rise dramatically. Cities should push for mandatory recycling programs and incentives for second-life battery uses. (per OECD findings)

Micromobility has the potential to transform urban mobility — but only if it solves its battery problem. Without action, dead scooters, inefficient charging, and supply chain issues will continue to undermine its sustainability claims.

Cities, companies, and policymakers have a choice: fix the system now, or risk losing public trust in micromobility altogether.

Because if e-scooters and e-bikes aren’t actually sustainable, what’s the point?