Cities, as you very well may know, are the dense concrete jungles of humanity. And, with this shoulder-to-shoulder way of life, transportation-and really infrastructure, for that matter-seems to be the foot-tall speed bump that every city-dweller despises. Everyone, no matter what their position, has somewhere to go; the everyday commute is inevitable. And with that, everyone needs a means of transportation.
While cars and subways continue to thrive, in spite of rising gas prices and the climate change issue so hotly debated, some innovative green companies are looking for an alternative. And as it so happens, one in particular, the Gogoro Smartscooter, may just have the amenities to change the face of inner-city transportation of the future.
Not too long ago, Gogoro seemed to consumers and critics alike as just another seemingly green-based startup, who wanted to compete with the likes of the motor industry like the Tesla Motor Company that came before it. However, Gogoro's business angles were far different from the other flashes in the frying pan-they were realistic and sustainable.
Gogoro's apparent marketing and development mantra was very clear from the get-go: provide the masses with an electric means of transportation that is easily rechargeable. So, with the aid of its sister company Gogoro Energy Network, Horace Luke, the mastermind behind the companies, aimed to create an accessible, adaptable means of inner-city commuting. The scooters, themselves, are intelligently simple in nature. Two wheels, an interactive LED screen between the two front indicating handle bars, and a small electric motor that's capable of propelling the scooter to top speeds of 25 mph. But the most interesting aspect to the whole power plant is the alkaline juice fueling the motor-the rechargeable, interchangeable battery packs.
The system's interactive cloud system, Gogoro iQ System, alerts you of not only your unit's battery and range status, but also of other riders in your vicinity, as well as locating the nearest GoStation around your corner.
GoStations are where the Gogoro Smartscooter truly pole-vaults over the competition. These futuristic petroleum-free gas stations allow commuting Gogoro Smartscooters to swap-out their near-dead batteries for fully-charged units, which simply slide into the scooter's rear-located battery pack; the change is akin to swapping-out batteries on any remote controller. So, in essence, this radical approach completely armor-ups the Achilles heel of battery-powered transportation-downtime.
A revolutionary idea, however, is never without its fair share of realistic problems. Heavy traffic of certain GoStations may lead to "battery build-up," causing commuters to forego certain stations because of congestion. And, with an average rechargeable lifespan of 2,000 cycles, recycling the defunct batteries may pose certain environmental issues, as well.
But all-in-all, the Gogoro Smartscooter has a bright future ahead.
