Understanding Intermediary Vehicles

In this guide, we dive deep into the concept of intermediary vehicles with Aurélien Bigo to discover what they are, explore the different types available, and learn about strategies for encouraging their adoption to enhance sustainable transportation solutions. You’ll learn about a promising solution which can reduce the environmental and social impacts of individual cars even in areas that are not well served by public transport. This solution is called intermediary vehicles. 

What are intermediary vehicles?

Intermediary vehicles are all vehicles between the traditional bicycle and the car as we know it today. In simple terms, they’re basically vehicles with a maximum weight of 600 kg. This extremely broad category includes a very wide range of vehicles that can potentially meet a very wide range of needs. 

Why are intermediary vehicles important?

Today our needs are extremely varied. We meet these needs using the car which is, in contrast to intermediary vehicles, a fairly standardised vehicle that is often oversized, especially for everyday use. This means that our daily journeys often only have one person inside the vehicle. This means it’s oversized first in the number of seats. Something that is linked, at least partially, is the weight of the vehicle. A car weighs around 1.3 tonnes but the weight of the person inside it, and their luggage, is around 100 kg on average. This means it’s a fairly ineffective vehicle in terms of the ratio between the weight of the vehicle and the weight actually transported. 

Conversely vehicles like bicycles completely reverse this ratio. A bicycle weighs around 15 kg and can transport 5 times more weight, even more if we look at cargo bikes. 

So, cars are oversized in terms of the number of seats, the weight and also the speed of the vehicle. Today, new vehicles have a maximum possible speed of around 180 km/h. Legally, we don’t even have the right in France to drive at that speed. By oversizing the power of the vehicle’s engine, it makes the vehicle heavier and given that it weighs more and goes faster the vehicle also needs more safety reinforcement. 

The autonomy of the vehicle is also oversized. Typically, we tend to size cars for a few exceptional journeys per year. Due to this oversizing designed for the sake of just a few trips per year or “just in case”, so to speak, we end up with a cost per vehicle which is very high both financially and environmentally. It’s calibrated for a few journeys for the holidays rather than for the vast majority of journeys in daily life so that it is still a versatile vehicle because that’s also what we’re looking for, to some extent. 

We can also explore other forms of mobility, like trains, buses and carpooling, for those few longer distance journeys. We need these alternatives for those few long-distance journeys, because otherwise, we will oversize the battery, the autonomy, etc. 

What are some of the common types of intermediary vehicles?

There is a wide range of intermediary vehicles. The closest to the bicycle is the electrically assisted bicycle which can be put in this category. Other examples of intermediary vehicles include: 

Speed Pedelec

If we accelerate the electric bike even further, we get the “Speed ​​Pedelec” which is a kind of electric bike that can go up to 45 km/h. In France, these are legally classed as mopeds but typically their energetic and environmental efficiency is very close to that of an electric bike. Going faster allows you to go further, so these can much more easily replace slightly longer car journeys, particularly in sparsely populated or rural areas, compared to an electric bike limited to 25 km/h which are more difficult to insert into slightly faster traffic on country roads, for example. It’s a fairly small difference compared to the classic bike but adding a little assistance makes it easier. In fact, in terms of use, we see that they are really different. They appeal to many more former car drivers than the classic bicycle. Other intermediary vehicles include special bikes, like taxi bikes or cargo bikes which make it easier to carry loads, children, etc.  

Velomobiles

Then we move towards vehicles which look a little more like a car. In terms of shape, we have velomobiles. They are streamlined recumbent bicycles which are protected from bad weather and closer to cars in terms of comfort. This is especially true of velomobiles that we call “car bicycles” due to their slightly more upright position. These are much closer to the shape of a car but they’re similar to bicycles because of the pedals in the vehicle and are assisted up to 25 or 45 km/h depending on the vehicle. They are much lighter than cars, less than 100 kg in general, and use fewer resources, making them much cheaper as well. 

Microcars and Minicars

Vehicles which are even closer to cars, but still fall in the category of intermediary vehicles, include microcars and minicars. They’re based on cars, but are much simpler, often with a little less space inside. Depending on the vehicle, you can have 1, 2 or 3 seats and the speeds are also a little different. For example, Microcars can go up to 45 km/h and Minicars can go up to 80- km/h. In rural areas, they require less change of use. If we take 100 kWh of batteries, and the needs in metal to produce 100 kWh of batteries, that’s what you need to electrify 90 a large SUV or pick-up. 

With minicars or microcars, such as the “Renault Twizy” or the “Citroën AMI”, 16 vehicles can be produced with 100 kWh worth of batteries. If we look at electric bikes, we can produce 200 electric bikes with this same battery capacity. 

How can we promote intermediary vehicles?

We have to support supply to scale the production of these vehicles, because today there is no real supply. Even people who are really interested in this type of vehicle have little choice on the market today. So that’s the first challenge: supply. 

We also need to increase demand. Today there is no real demand because many people don’t know about these types of vehicles. Once they find out about them, they still need to be tested because there’s a gap between our preconceptions when we hear about intermediary vehicles for the first time and knowing whether they can actually meet our needs. Some common questions are the following:  

• What do they feel like to drive? Do we feel safe? 

• What are the pros and cons in terms of cost and mobility? 

• How well can they fit in with our activities and transport needs? 

That’s the extremely important testing phase. Generally speaking, in mobility, things need to be tested because we have very strong habits. We don’t wonder every morning what mode of transport we will use or what is most relevant based on several criteria. That’s why we need to perform tests. There are also many other broader policies to support demand, like financial support because these vehicles can be expensive. We must also think about how to integrate these vehicles into our infrastructure. Depending on the type of intermediate vehicles, some considerations are: 

1. Should they use cycle paths? 
   • In some cases, these vehicles are a little wider or heavier or faster. 
2. Where exactly do we set the limits? 
3. If they travel on the road with cars, doesn’t that put them at greater risk of accidents? 

There are definitely questions that need to be asked. Is it worth reserving parts of the road network for these types of vehicles when cars can take alternative routes like major roads, for example. 

Are there any limitations to intermediary vehicles?

It’s very clear that these vehicles aren’t some sort of magic solution. They can clearly be relevant for certain applications, especially to replace cars, which we should aim for from an environmental point of view. This is particularly true in rural areas where distances are often a little longer too. In cities, more alternatives to the car often already exist. These vehicles aren’t a magic solution because they also require support or guidance from public authorities.  

One example is the “Citroën AMI”, a microcar which goes at 45 km/h, because it can be driven from the age of 14 in France. It’s quite similar to a car in terms of environmental impact too. But manufacturers are looking to target and ultimately motorize a segment of the population, from the age of 14, which is not motorized today. This will prime them to use a car in the future. As soon as they get their license, they will want to move up to “a real car” because they have already been using a microcar. 

This example shows that there is a need for regulation if we want to develop the use of intermediary vehicles in the right way, to ensure that these vehicles are used in the most relevant way and replace cars as much as possible. 

If you want to get a deeper understanding of Demand Responsive Transport, register now for our free online course: DRT: Where does it fit?