The TechMobility Podcast
Welcome to The TechMobility Podcast, your ultimate source for authentic insights, news, and perspectives at the nexus of mobility and technology. We're all about REAL FACTS, REAL OPINIONS, and REAL TALK! From personal privacy to space hotels, if it moves or moves you, we're discussing it! Our weekly episodes venture beyond the conventional, offering a unique, unfiltered take on the topics that matter. We're not afraid to color outside the lines, and we believe you'll appreciate our bold approach!
The TechMobility Podcast
Moon-Spec Wheels, Who's Tracking Your Car, Coal's Salvation, The Surprising Future of Micromobility
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From lunar technology to invasive surveillance, the mobility landscape is transforming in ways both promising and concerning. This episode explores three critical developments reshaping how we move—and who's watching us move.
Michelin's groundbreaking lunar rover tires represent innovation at its finest. Designed to withstand extreme temperatures from -400°F to 212°F without air, these thermoplastic marvels could revolutionize Earth vehicles too. With electric vehicles weighing up to 30% more than their gas counterparts, the lessons learned from space might solve pressing challenges for everyday transportation. Much like the space race of the 1960s, today's moonshot projects could deliver tomorrow's consumer innovations.
Meanwhile, a troubling surveillance network is expanding across America. Flock Group, operating automated license plate readers in over 5,000 communities, is developing "Nova"—a system combining license data with information from data brokers and even breached databases. This allows tracking individuals without warrants or court orders, raising serious privacy concerns. Most citizens remain unaware their movements are being recorded, packaged, and sold without meaningful legal protections.
The micromobility revolution offers a brighter narrative. The global market for e-bikes, scooters, and mopeds—valued at $160 billion in 2022—is projected to reach $340 billion by 2030. These lightweight options address urban congestion (drivers waste up to 119 hours annually in traffic), reduce emissions, and provide affordable alternatives to car ownership. While Americans cherish their vehicles, micromobility presents practical solutions for increasingly dense urban environments.
What technologies will enhance our freedom, and which ones might constrain it? The answers lie in understanding these developments and demanding appropriate safeguards. Join our conversation by texting 872-222-9793 or emailing talk@techmobilityshow with your thoughts on these transformative technologies.
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Speaker 2:I'm Ken Chester On the docket. Your winning participation in the development of a people lookup tool call salvation is steel and what is micromobility? To join the conversation, text the call to TechMobility hotline, that number 872-222-9793. Or you can email the show directly. Talk at techmobilityshow. For those of you that support writers on Substack, I am there too as a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. You can find me there at Ken, the letter C, the word Iowa, so that's K-E-N-C-I-O-W-A From the Tech Mobility News Desk.
Speaker 2:What would you say if I told you that there was a set of tires in existence that could operate between 212 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit? They don't hold any air and they're designed not to fail. Would you be willing to buy a set of tires like that to never, ever have him worry about a blowout or damage? And if so, do you think he can afford them? Well, there's good news and bad news. One yes, those tires really exist. And no, you can't buy them.
Speaker 2:Michelin is developing tires to go on the next moon lunar rover and they were tested between negative 400 and plus 212 degrees Fahrenheit. They don't hold air. They're made out of thermoplastic and they're tougher than anything we use on Earth and they're tougher than anything we use on Earth. Now, the reason that Michelin bid this contract with NASA they believe, much the same way that the companies got in with the space race during the 1960s, that what they learned there they can apply to products here on Earth. And no doubt much the same way, companies developed technologies that made it into everyday life as a result of all the research money spent on the space race in the 1960s. Much the same way, automakers get an advantage from racing, depending on what circuit they're out there, they can test components and engines and parts under the harsh realities of high speed, high pressure racing and find out what works, what don't. This is basically Michelin's moonshot, if you'll pardon the pun. It gives them an opportunity to take things to the extreme and apply everything they ever learned about tires over the 130 years they've been in business and see what else they can learn as a result of the project. These wheels they call them wild looking can withstand extreme temperatures and conquer craters, and some of the things that are about it.
Speaker 2:Let me take you back for a minute. The first moon rover was launched in 1971, over 50 years ago, and that rover, ironically, was built by General Motors that one. Today, with everything we've learned, obviously the whole thing's going to look different, and that includes the tires. And the only thing really between the tires on your vehicle and the tires on this new lunar rover have in common they're both round, it's about it. There's no air pressure, and it's made entirely of thermoplastic. Why not carbon, like your tires? Because carbon gets hard above 212 degrees Fahrenheit. They don't make the cut.
Speaker 2:The demand what you're doing is very rigorous. This rover is going to reside on Earth's moon for about 10 years, exploring remote areas and taking samples on manned and unmanned missions. Each wheel had to be tested in extreme environments to ensure it could tough it out in those temperatures, stay intact even in the path of solar and galactic radiation, and maintain traction on very loose soil and galactic radiation. And maintain traction on very loose soil. Bear this in mind. On average, the tires that you're running on your car, truck, suv, minivan right now, they advise you to change them every six years. These have to last in much harder environments for four more years than that, just to give you some context. So why bother with a project that has a high cool factor but is also extremely expensive?
Speaker 2:Michelin believes that its work will lead to technical and scientific advances that could lead to creative tire and wheels ideas here on earth. Here's an aside In the beginning part of this decade, tire manufacturers Michelin was one of them were looking at different ways to get past the typical tire construction that we know and love. Part of that was being pushed by the added weight of EVs and the need for different handling and performance and weight and load characteristics and, ironically enough, the design that they had come up with looks a lot like this thermoplastic design that they're modifying for the rover. The funny thing is it was supposed to go into testing. Gm had agreed with at least one of the tire makers to start testing this alternative tire by 2024. To my knowledge, that did not happen. Whether COVID derailed it, whether the cost got out of line or whether they figured that it just was not feasible, we haven't heard any more about that. No doubt Michelin may have an eye on, maybe taking what they've learned from this project and applying it to that project and revisit it.
Speaker 2:Because what most people don't realize here on earth, these new EVs that are coming out, whether they're cars, suvs or whatever are way heavier than the gasoline versions they replaced because of the batteries, and I mean they could be as much as a third heavier. That's a lot of weight. So if you're talking a 4,000 or even a 3,000-pound subcompact vehicle, you're adding upwards of another 1,000 to 1,200 pounds just in battery weight Because they're so much heavier and because of the nature of how electric vehicles accelerate they're so much heavier and because of the nature of how electric vehicles accelerate. All of that factors into rethinking how tires fit into the equation in terms for handling, starting, stopping and carrying the weight and not wearing as quickly. So there's a lot of that going on and it's not all in vain.
Speaker 2:There's a reason why Michelin is looking at this, because if you take something to the extreme, then you learn how it performs in extreme weather, extreme conditions. Then you can take that extreme and say, okay, how can I take the lessons we learned there and apply it to every day where we have some heavy demand or severe use applications that we need a different solution for? Will this work for that? That's what Michelin is gonna find out. And it is a funky looking thing. I mean it has a flat surface in the round, but between the rim and the surface are doesn't look anything like a tire that you would recognize today? Nothing at all.
Speaker 2:To go a little further, factoring in the radiation abrasion of an abrupt temperature changes between the bottom of the crater and the surface of the moon, rubber wasn't going to cut it. On the surface of the moon, rubber wasn't going to cut it, and Michelin already knew from years of practice that rubber turns into a hard surface at 240 degrees below zero. I don't know how they would know that, but yeah, they know that. Instead, the company created a wheel composed of flexible, thermoplastic S-shaped spokes that connect the wheel to the outside quote-unquote tread that makes contact with the soil. Now these tires don't have a traditional tread that you would expect to see Now, given that the Rovers cannot carry a spare wheel. So the original set has to be pretty close to perfect and even if one of these spokes breaks, the wheel will still continue to function, because it's not a catastrophic failure, as it might be if a tire was punctured.
Speaker 2:The mission would not be lost. Even if the wheel lost a few spokes. And if you figure wear and tear over 10 years even remotely and it's such a harsh environment that's a very real possibility. Ironically, the wheels are very soft and very flexible, and they have to lose as little energy as possible when moving on a surface, because, remember, this rover is operated by a battery that it only gets from solar charging. That's it, that's all it can get. So energy conservation is a big deal on top of all of this. So we'll see, and I haven't even begun to talk about gravity another issue it's one-sixth of what it is here, and that does factor in how the tires work. Flock, a major license plate reader company, is building a massive people lookup tool. Yikes, you are listening to the tech mobility show.
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Speaker 2:Get started today and revolutionize the way you communicate. Social media is the main place to be these days, and we are no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Facebook videos, from my latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary of a variety of mobility and technology related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Facebook. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to our Facebook page. Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Speaker 2:For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week. Shorter than a full show, these bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if you're interested in a particular topic covered on the weekly radio show. From Apple Podcasts to iHeartRadio and many podcast platforms in between, we got you covered. Just enter Tech Mobility Topics in the search bar, wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Speaker 2:Hmm, 1955. 1955. You could get air conditioning in 1955. 1955. You could get air conditioning in 1955. Where I grew up, my first brand new car, which was 25 years after that, still didn't have air conditioning. I think it was my second car in the mid-1980s that I actually owned air conditioning and I was a long ways from Massachusetts where I grew up, because back then, honestly, you didn't really need it. It was only two weeks in the whole year where it got that hot. My parents' house didn't have central air. I didn't learn any of that until I moved to the Midwest. Oh well, 1955, nash Rambler, who knew Flock Group. They're the parent of Flock Safety, a Georgia-based manufacturing operator of security hardware and software.
Speaker 2:Particularly automated license plate recognition is better known as ALPR, video surveillance and gunfire locator systems, has cameras that are installed in more than 5,000 communities in the United States. That's right now, and put a pin in that because I'm going to come back to it. The company is currently building a product that will use people lookup tools, data brokers, and get this data breaches to jump from license plate reader to person. This will allow law enforcement to much more easily identify and track the movement of specific people around the country without a warrant or a court order, according to internal company documents. Whatever happened to the quaint concept of personal privacy? This is topic A. Let me come back to that 5,000 communities. About two summers ago, I had noticed on two streets in my town one street I frequent every single day they put up cameras going and coming, and the city that I lived in didn't say a word about those cameras. And now I think I know why Because the city didn't put them in. A private firm did, and they can do that and they collect that data. In fact, even law enforcement can set stuff up like that.
Speaker 2:Now, to be clear, we don't have any laws that protect us from this kind of stuff, and one thing that you should have heard, that should have jumped out at you in the opening, was they're going to use their product, is going to use data that had been breached by hackers. They're going to use that in order to identify you and, what's worse, people that you are connected to, not just you. That's the the scary part. Without a warrant or a court order, they will be potentially able to link a vehicle passing by a camera to its owner, and then more people connected them through marriage or other association. Now, to be honest, some people within the company, I guess, have some morals and wondered about them questioning the ethics of using hacked data as part of their surveillance product. But they're going to use it.
Speaker 2:The new product is called Nova. It will supplant license plate data with a wealth of personal information sourced from other companies and the wider web, and this is according to data that was secured by. Where I got this from? 404 Media. One Slack message this is all. Company internal documents said that Nova supports 20 different data sources that agencies can toggle on or off.
Speaker 2:I have said this many times down through the years. I'm going to say it again. Everybody's getting wound up about what they see and I keep telling you the real stuff going on is the stuff you don't see and you don't hear about, like this Where's the noise for this? This is happening in real time. This is happening.
Speaker 2:Let's not even before we even get to NOVA, let's back up a minute and talk about the automated license plate recognition. Did you even know that was a thing? If you've been listening to this program? We talked about it and your license plate's getting scanned in places you don't even know that it's getting scanned without your permission, without your knowledge, and that information is being bundled your permission, without your knowledge, and that information is being bundled and sold, combined and manipulated, because we don't have any federal laws that protect us regarding how data is collected, sold and disseminated. We talked on this program a while back about a face recognition software that was flawed, so flawed that a number of municipalities stopped using it because, when it came to women and people of color, they were getting false positives all the time. It was wrong.
Speaker 2:My question is, with all of this stuff and Flock is just one company, by the way, they're not the only one and they're bundling this information, they're selling it to law enforcement, they're selling it to the highest bidder, they're getting it from data brokers. Anybody who deals in data is either buying or selling this information. It would be okay if there was guidelines, if there were guardrails that protected the average citizen from this kind of invasion of privacy, which is what it really is. You don't know how that information is being used and you don't know if that information is being targeted against you or your family, or your friends or even people you work with, because you passed a license plate reader, an automated license plate reader and they're starting to collect all this information to make all these connections. If that's not big brother, I don't know what is, and I'm not okay with it. You shouldn't be either. This is happening in real time. I'm still trying to get past the automated license plate recognition.
Speaker 2:Forget the rest of it. What happened to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness? What happened to people? What happened to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness? What happened to people having the ability to be private underlined citizens Private, private, law-abiding citizens in the United States of America? And we don't even have the rights to protect our own privacy when it comes to stuff like this. Companies should not be allowed to do this, or, if they do, in very, extremely limited situations where, yes, a warrant needs to be required, because who is protecting all of this stuff they've accumulated from them getting hacked, from a bad actor hacking them or, worse, god forbid, they sell it to whoever. There are no laws saying they can't, there's no guidelines that say what they can do with the information, how long they can keep it. Flock is getting ready to roll this out to whosoever will, and you know, and honestly, the only thing that's going to protect us is the ethics of the people doing it and, honestly, when it comes to money and a capitalist system, I ain't put a whole lot of faith in ethics. Too many companies said trust me and we got burned. There needs to be guidelines. This is the kind of stuff happening below the radar that you need to know about, you need to be aware of when it comes to your personal privacy. You need to demand that we get legislation to stand up for this stuff. When it comes to the future of cold in the United States, the answer is steel.
Speaker 2:This is the Tech Mobility Show. Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you've missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility Podcast just about anywhere. You can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iheart Radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the Tech Mobility Podcast in the search bar. Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media it's the place to be. We're no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Several times a week, I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility, technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the Tech Mobility Show on TikTok. Check it out.
Speaker 2:Coal Considered a dirty fuel because of its high carbon content, along with the toxic byproducts produced when burned, the EPA had been turning electricity producers away from the material and tore it to natural gas. The coal used in these instances is called thermal coal. The future of coal lies in its other, more industrial application is metallurgical coal, or better known as coking coal, which is used primarily in the manufacture of steel, a basic but essential building material used in just about everything from buildings and roads to household appliances. It seems that we're not yet done with the dirty business. This is topic B.
Speaker 2:I read this article and they're convinced this is from MarketWatch. They're convinced that the demand for thermal coal, in other words, coal used to generate heat or steam, used to create temperature like a power plant or some other heat generating industrial application, that that will go down in developed countries. But global demand will continue to go up as other countries, like India, like China, continue to grow their economies and coal is the cheap way to do it and continue to put that all in the air. I take issue with the article as I thought about it, because what you're seeing right now with coal is an intersection where coal-fired plants are nearing the end of their lives. We've reported here in the past year or so about the increasing demand for electricity due to the growth of data centers and due to the growth of AI development, to the point where plants that were scheduled to be decommissioned, taken offline.
Speaker 2:They're applying to the states to keep them online, or the states are approaching the utilities saying, hey, can you keep this plant connected to the grid? You're going to need it for power generation. We don't have enough power to replace it and what we're expecting for growth? We're going to need everything. It's the same thing going on where you're seeing a rebirth in nuclear energy, you're seeing a delay in coal-fired plants being offline and in some cases, you're seeing recently decommissioned coal plants being brought back online.
Speaker 2:The problem with that for the utility is the fact that if you've got a coal plant and when you built it you said, okay, coal plant has a life of 30 years, so you planned your investment, your maintenance, your staffing all of that over a 30 year life for your investment. You're now in year 28 of that 30 years and your local utility board comes to you, utility, and says, based on our projections, power demand is going to grow in your operating area by 5, 10% over the next 5 to 10 years and, based on what you've got for available generating capacity, we're wondering if you can keep that coal plant online. Well, now the utility has a problem At the end of that time. It's just not a matter of saying, okay, we'll hold it open. Like anything utilities very capital-intensive business Coal utility if you plant it for 30 years, you probably didn't put any new money into it, probably in the last five because you were going to shut it down. So why am I doing it? Other than maintenance and safety and things? Typically, coal plants at the end of life will need between $20 and $30 million in order to be refurbished, to continue another two, three years. The utility is saying, okay, but we're going to need five or 10 years to get our money back. If we keep this plant open and we spend this money, which we have to do to keep it reliable, can we get our return back on investment. Why am I sharing this with you? Because that has an exact and real impact on rate payers. Because if they got to spend that money, how are they going to get it back? By charging you more for electricity.
Speaker 2:They think thermal's going away. I don't think as much as they think, but their argument is, with the recent move to bring stuff to reshore stuff to America and all the manufacturing that's supposed to come back here, they believe that the demand for steel, hence metallurgical coal will both go up. The demand for domestic steel will go up. The demand for the coal needed to make that steel will go up. We've also talked about on this program how steel is one of the toughest industries to decarbonize. Part of that is because of the use of coking coal metallurgical coal and the greenhouse gases it gives off and all the other toxic gas it gives off. There's no real substitute, although there have been companies Volvo, bmw and others that have worked to develop what they call green steel, but it's still a fraction of all the steel produced and it's still a process that has not been scaled up and, like anything else in any basic industry, it takes millions of dollars to do this kind of stuff, and here's some stuff they didn't talk about.
Speaker 2:If the use of metallurgical coal continues to go up, that's going to have a transportation impact, because coal primarily and solely gets hauled by one particular transportation mode and that is by rail. If you're looking at pulling this coal out of Appalachia, if you're looking at pulling this coal out of Powder River, where most of the coal is mined right now and that's Powder River Wyoming, by the way, where there are 11 different coal mines along 110 miles of railroad track and they're pulling anywhere from 80 to 90, 100 car trains full of coal out of there a day. That's the Burlington, northern Santa Fe and the Union Pacific A day. You can sit here in Iowa along the Union Pacific mainline and watch the full coal trains rolling east Plural. You can go down into southern Iowa same thing with the Burlington northern Santa Fe and watch the loaded coal trains rolling east to power plants, to wherever, from Powder River, hundreds of miles away. So there's impact of all kinds and not just the coal.
Speaker 2:The question is the investors are asking if they think the thermal coal is going away and metallurgical coal is here, then what mining companies will be around to mine it? Number one and number two will they be able to ride this benefit? Is this benefit for real? They think right now. The short answer for the metallurgical coal is yes, and they believe that 20 years. And the problem that I have with that is if they believe that metallurgical coal will be a major force in steelmaking for the next 20 years, even as we try to decarbonize everything, then we've got a real problem with steel manufacturing in the United States that it is going to be, and probably will be, the dominant polluter both of greenhouse gases and other toxic material in the air. If this is the case, unless they figure something out and right now, you know is there a less expensive way to do it?
Speaker 2:Coal plants are not cheap to run. Coal plants are not cheap to refurbish. Coal plants are not cheap, I'm sorry. Coal plants, steel plants, are not cheap to upgrade, refurbish or build. You're looking at hundreds of millions of dollars, sometimes even billions of dollars. You're looking at hundreds of millions of dollars, sometimes even billions of dollars, so it should be interesting to see how this plays out. Like I said, globally they're expecting a continued growth in the use of metallurgical coal as the demand for steel increases. They also expect, over that same time period, the use of thermal coal, like for electric utilities, will continue to drop. I think it will be mitigated a little bit in the United States because of the growth of AI and data centers and the need for electric power quickly, because it does take a while to build any kind of new electric generation capacity. Even if you're talking about a wind farm, it takes time to build that stuff and refurbishing a coal plant's a lot cheaper than building something from scratch and getting all the permits and everything. So we'll see. Coal's not dead yet.
Speaker 2:Now you've heard me talk about mobility, but exactly what is micro-mobility? That's next. We are the Tech Mobility Show. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings of the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobilityshow. That's techmobilityshow. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobility dot show. Did you know that TechMobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the TechMobility show. Each week I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube. Check it out.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos From the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Speaker 2:Here at the Tech Mobility Show, there's no shortage of conversation about mobility of all kinds. I've talked about methane-powered ocean vessels, electric virtual takeoff and landing craft, over-the-road trucks, railroad locomotives and the ubiquitous car and truck. Micromobility is a subset of transportation that's not often talked about in any detail, except here right now. This is topic C. You know me, I always love to provide you context. Let me start with a definition, and I'm leaning on a McKinsey and Company white paper, which I like their information, so I tend to use it. So let's start with a definition. What is it? Micromobility refers to transportation via lightweight vehicles, including bicycles, e-bikes, electric kick scooters, otherwise known as e-scooters, and two-wheeled electric mopeds that are used for short-distance travel. These vehicles can either be human-powered or electric and can be either privately owned or shared. And then it references if you live in a city, you've probably seen e-scooters. Let me take you back to 2017 to 2019.
Speaker 2:In the United States, if you lived in a large city in America, you probably remember the all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a bunch of e-scooters just dumped, depending on the city, some folks overwhelmed. Back then, these micro mobility companies were trying to get to scale and they believed it was better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission, and they wanted to introduce people at scale in a hurry to these bikes by either offering them for little or nothing. Folks were leaving them all over the place, they were becoming a nuisance, they were being left on the sidewalk, they were being beat up. The average lifespan of one of those scooters during that time was 18 months. I mean, these folks took an old saying to a whole new level and you may have heard the old saying don't be gentle, it's a rental. These folks beat these things to death. They only lasted a year and a half. Folks beat these things to death. They only lasted a year and a half and in fact we reported on a group of people that one particular micromobility company hired to fetch their vehicles, called bird catchers, where they would fetch these e-scooters from places where they weren't needed, get them charged, get them to places where they were needed and they got a bounty, literally of so much a scooter. And that was then. After that, cities said you know what? We're going to pass some laws and we're going to get a handle on this, because we don't want this to happen ever again. It was unsafe, people were getting hurt, it was uncouth. It just was a bad way for most cities all the way around.
Speaker 2:But let me take you to the next level. Let's look at this thing at a global range. The global micromobility market's on the upswing and McKinsey estimates that the market was worth about get this now $160 billion with a B three years ago in 2022. Within five years from now, by 2030, they estimate this same business micromobility globally to reach $340 billion. Now, obviously, in some regions, micromobility is more than double its size. In Europe, it's going to reach $140 billion, south Asia $45 billion, the Middle East and Africa $20 billion apiece, and even greater. China's micromobility market is expected to double to $80 billion. And then there's North America, and when I say North America, I am talking about Canada, united States and Mexico combined, and it's on track for more modest, though explosive growth. We're on track to reach $35 billion, up from $20 billion in 2022, so more than 50% growth in about seven years.
Speaker 2:Micromobility aims to solve a major problem that most of the world's vehicles about 1.3 billion were in use in 2023, are privately owned. As a result, global urban infrastructure is strained and anybody who's ever been through a city I don't care how big you know this to be true. Drivers in Munich, germany, waste an average of 87 hours in traffic every year, while in pre-pandemic Los Angeles, the number of wasted hours averaged 119 hours a year. 119 hours a year the better part of a week, the better part of one week. You spend in traffic. One week out of 52 weeks. You gave up almost a whole week. You gave up almost four days.
Speaker 2:Private vehicles make roadway congestion worse because they accommodate fewer passengers than public transportation and other shared options. Here's a statistic for you According to the 2022 analysis from McKinney Center for Future Mobility, private cars were still used 45% of all trips. That's globally. I'm willing to bet in the United States it's way higher, and definitely up here in the upper Midwest, higher than that, if you told me it was 85 to 90%, I'd say you were probably low. But yeah, I mean, I get that you can't ride an e-scooter in the country. It don't work. You're going to need a car. And if you're in the cities, you know there's a handful of cities in Iowa that would accommodate something like that, maybe five or six, you know, out of 99 counties and 3 million people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the reality of private car ownership and congestion creates more than just traffic-related annoyances. Private ownership necessitates parking garages and parking spaces on valuable urban land that can be otherwise used for parks or other amenities. And, of course, more roads and infrastructure means more spending on maintenance and operations. And, more critically, of course, the high rate of private car ownership contributes to increased carbon emissions. We love our vehicles in America. We ain't going to hardly give them up In the cities though, really, and I keep going back to my college days in Boston.
Speaker 2:But even back in the 70s, I didn't own a car until the day before I graduated college, did not need one. The 70s, I didn't own a car until the day before I graduated college, did not need one. All because of four letters that's still working. The MBTA, otherwise known as Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the natives call the T. If you needed to get somewhere within 40 miles of Boston, you really didn't need a car. You needed a schedule, the right pass and you can go anywhere.
Speaker 2:And that was then, with all the added choices for micromobility. Now I don't even have to wait on the bus in the larger cities, including Boston, including Des Moines. We've got e-bikes here, still scooters around. You can rent an e-bike here in a lot of the college towns. So micromobility could solve a problem. Particularly if you can't afford a car or maybe you don't want to own a car for all the expense, micromobility becomes an economic choice, which is a better choice all the way around. Don't have to insure it as much, you can store it easily, maintenance is less of an issue and you can get around when you want to, and that would be a good thing.
