[Electric bicycles. Photo Credit to Unsplash]

On February 19 2023, two teenagers riding together on an electric kick-scooter were hit by a car and had to be admitted to the hospital.

Since they didn’t follow the laws relating to PMs, they were fined 120 thousand won, just like the other 77% that didn’t follow the safety rules. 

There also has been an astonishing increase in the number, precisely 5100%, of casualties.

Nevertheless, PM users are increasing geometrically. 

According to data.seoul, there has been a steady increase in the market size and the number of users of PM. Since 2017, there has been an increase of approximately 50,000 users , and it is estimated to reach 600,000 people by 2025. 

Many experts and citizens see the main cause as being ‘Personal’.  

Due to a combination of needs from the COVID-19 pandemic since 2019 and the upcoming environmental crisis , the request for a quick, personal, and environmentally friendly means of transportation was met as a result. 

Many small sized companies and professionals in this field started to create massive amounts of what is called “Personal Mobility”. 

This type of industry became mainstream due to the fact that it was easy to make, spread, and retrieve. 

Once it entered Korean society, it increased tremendously in 2019. Thanks to its cheap production price.

Personal Mobility (PM) is a type of transportation for 1 person. 

Its main feature is that it is a combination of eco-friendly technology and electric power. 

Types of PM that have been used since the pandemic include electric kick-scooters, electric bicycles, and self-balancing scooters, but the market mainly beams on electric kick-scooters.

Although it seems like an effective way of transportation, it has created a myriad of serious problems such as 1735 accidents in 2021, according to dhdaily.co.kr.

In one extreme case, a family in an apartment died from a sudden explosion of the energy source of PMs, known as Lithium Ion batteries.

According to an experiment, Lithium Ion batteries without protective cases were set on fire within 18 minutes. 

Furthermore, PMs can reach up to the speed of 55 km/h, making it harder to stop immediately, and thus increasing the risk of creating more accidents on innocent citizens.

Due to this fact, the Korean Government enacted new laws enforcing people to ride safely. 

Also, according to Mbrain, out of 1000 citizens of ages ranging from 19~59, 93.2% answered that there is a crucial need for new, more powerful enactments of these cases. 

The law mentions, according to korea.kr, riding without a helmet fines 20 thousand won, and riders below the age of 13 fines 100 thousand won; however, these laws  still do not  seem to be sufficient.

Even with this enforcement, users of major PM companies such as G-Cooter and Swing increased by 28%, revealed biz.chosun. 

In total, roughly 210 thousand people used PM in 2020, 6 times the amount last year.

Furthermore, the electric kick-scooter market is increasing geometrically, with 580 thousand available kick-scooters, and a huge market size of 3.6 billion dollars, according to SPMA, or Shared Personal Mobility Alliance, and KOTI (the Korea Transport Institute).

This is not only the case for Korea.

Countries all over the world are pushing their market to accept more PM, and some even have started before us. 

For example, in the U.S, transportation means such as taxis and buses are having a hard time surviving against the PM market, says Zendrive.

As more and more people are using PMs, fewer people take taxis, buses, subways, and other means of social transportation.

Hence, there is a high possibility that the main transportation spotlight will tilt towards the PM industry. 

Lee Dong Geun, Office Manager of SPMA, speculates that the PM industry will be a main feature of the future city model.

As time goes on, we will have to adjust to a life with PM. In order to maintain, and further enhance our relationship with the PM industry, we will have to devise a new plan for a safer society that capitalizes on the advantageous aspects of PMs.