Electric Two-Wheelers: A Low-Hanging Fruit Solution for Sustainable Transport?

The recent expansion of mass public transit in Bangkok has increased demand for public motorcycle taxis as a first- and last-mile solution for sustainable urban mobility. This study presents the results of a real-world demonstration project that transitioned 50 conventional public motorcycle taxis into electric motorcycles supported by a battery-swapping system. The project evaluated vehicle performance, operational patterns, electricity consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under actual traffic conditions. Electric motorcycles deployed in taxi services must accommodate additional passenger load, provide sufficient acceleration for dense urban traffic, and sustain high daily travel distances. The findings show that participating riders accumulated a total driving distance of 759,354 km during the project period, demonstrating the technical and operational feasibility of electrification in high utilization fleets. Based on measured electricity consumption and Thailand’s grid emission factor, the transition resulted in an estimated reduction of approximately 1708.4 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, excluding additional benefits associated with modal shifts to mass public transit. The results further indicate that battery-swapping infrastructure is a critical operational enabler, as daily travel distances frequently exceed the single-charge range of typical electric motorcycles. Scenario projections aligned with Thailand’s 30-by-30 electric vehicle policy target suggest that large-scale electrification of motorcycle fleets could contribute substantially to national mitigation efforts, supporting the country’s accelerated goal of net-zero emissions target by 2050.