ELEVATE highlights the role of e micromobility in sustainable transport
ELEVATE shows how e micromobility can reduce car use and support healthier mobility. Frauke Behrendt helped shape the project now led by Leeds University.
The latest findings from the ELEVATE project show how light electric vehicles such as e bikes, e cargo bikes, and e scooters can help reduce car use in everyday life. The research points to the potential of e micromobility not only to lower emissions, but also to support healthier and more practical forms of mobility.
TU Eindhoven researcher Frauke Behrendt played an important role in the development of ELEVATE. She led the team that developed the original bid and wrote the grant application, and she was the project’s original principal investigator. After her move to TU Eindhoven, the project continued under the leadership of the University of Leeds, in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford and Brighton, while she remained involved as one of the researchers.
Sustainable transport more urgent
The need for more sustainable transport is becoming more urgent. Cities are dealing with congestion, pressure on public space, air quality concerns, and unequal access to mobility. At the same time, the growth of electric cars alone does not solve every transport challenge. ELEVATE adds evidence for a broader transition in which lighter vehicles can play a more central role, especially when the goal is to reduce car dependency, improve public health, and use energy and space more efficiently.
This focus fits closely with Behrendt’s research at the intersection of mobility, sustainability, and digitalization. Her work looks at how technology, people, and policy come together in mobility transitions, including questions of fairness. The ELEVATE findings from the United Kingdom complement her wider work on the electrification of two- and three- wheelers in the Netherlands, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
What we learn
ELEVATE combines large scale surveys with real life household trials in several cities in the United Kingdom. The project explored how people use and experience different forms of e micromobility. More than half of surveyed adults said they were interested in trying e micromobility.
The trial results are especially revealing. Households using e cargo bikes replaced more than half of their travelled kilometers by substituting car or van trips, particularly for school runs, commuting, and shopping. The findings also show that this potential is not limited to cycling contexts such as the Netherlands. It can also emerge in places with a less established cycling culture, such as the United Kingdom.
The project also makes clear that adoption does not happen automatically. Cost, safety, storage, infrastructure, and perceptions of risk all shape whether people are willing and able to use these vehicles in daily life – and this is where the right policy support is needed. That makes the findings especially relevant for policymakers, local authorities, and employers who want to encourage more sustainable travel choices in practice.
Substantial benefits
The wider significance of ELEVATE lies in its focus on everyday mobility. Many of the trips people make each day are short, routine, and closely tied to work, care, and family life. If even part of those trips shift away from the car, the benefits can be substantial. Less traffic can mean less pressure on urban space, lower emissions, more active travel, and reduced strain on energy systems compared with a transition focused mainly on electric cars.
That is why the project matters well beyond the United Kingdom. Its findings are relevant both for countries where uptake of these modes is already growing quickly, such as the Netherlands, and for countries where uptake is still emerging. For IE&IS, the project also highlights the value of research that connects technology with behavior, policy, and social impact. While the project is now led by Leeds, Behrendt’s role in shaping its foundation and research direction remains clearly visible in the final results.