by As city streets become more and more congested with cars and trucks, people have started looking for more economical means of getting from point A to point B. While motorcycles and electric scooters have become a fad, there are still some who prefer the good old leg work of bikes to go places. However, not everyone has the means to buy their own bike, so bike rentals have popped up in a few cities around the world. While more sustainable and affordable, rental bikes are not always the most effective or space-saving option, especially on narrow or already crowded sidewalks. Kick scooters might actually be a better choice for the general population and this concept envisions a portable mode of transportation that could make scooter rentals an even better and less stressful experience.
Designers: Johnny Jiasheng Chen, Wing-Ki Leung, Tzu-Chin Weng, Ching-Chun Wang
Bikes might sound like the ultimate sustainable mode of transportation, especially when they are rented rather than purchased. This only applies if you can actually ride a bike and only if you wear appropriate underwear. Even if these requirements are met, the conventional rental bike racks take up a lot of space even for five bikes, let alone ten. For cities with hundreds of potential drivers, that will require a lot of ground.
City Wander solves these problems by replacing the bicycle with a scooter. Not those electric scooters that weigh more than a bicycle, but an old-fashioned scooter that has four wheels instead of the usual two. This type of scooter is much easier to ride and does not require training like a bicycle. And since you’re getting up, you don’t have to fret about your wardrobe that day.
It’s not just a simple four-wheeled scooter, either. City Wander is designed to be portable and space-saving. It folds easily so you can take it with you like a flat stroller. There’s also a front storage compartment for your belongings, although you’ll probably need to remember that it contains something before you fold down the handle.
Although this design makes it convenient to take the scooter anywhere, it’s really meant to be part of a larger city-wide rental system. This system includes a station that can hold up to ten such scooters for the space of a single bike. The station has the expected features of digital access via a mobile app, and uses a conveyor belt to move unused scooters forward while used ones slide in through the back. It’s admittedly an interesting design that ticks all the right boxes, especially on a scooter that looks sleek and stylish even in white. However, implementing such a system, especially at an advanced rental location, could require more resources than are available, and most cities will likely just fall back on the cheapest bikes and racks available.
