Human-powered Mobility is Here to Stay

As the 20th century progressed, horse or bullock carts and human-powered bicycles were transformed into cars, trains, and airplanes that could transport us in comfort and without breaking a sweat.

But, as we move further into the 21st century, human power is coming back.

The UN estimates that two out of three people will live in urban areas by 2050. Not just cities, but megacities – cities that have more than 10 million people.

Moving within such congested cities will not be easy in big cars and buses. Walking or taking a bicycle to go short distances might be easier. “What we are then going to see is a rise of micromobility, like e-bikes and e-scooters, and human-powered mobility,” says Nikolas Badminton in the WIPO Technology Trends Report 2025 on the Future of Transportation.

Although there is no consensus on when exactly the bicycle was invented, in 1818, Karl Freiherr von Drais received a ten-year Grand Ducal privilege for his “Laufmaschine” (running machine or balance bike, sometimes called ‘hobby horse’ in English), akin to a patent today. Called balance bikes today, you may have seen very small children riding something like this.

This running machine became a velocipede, patented in 1866, then tandem bicycles, and continually improved into today’s bicycles: human-powered or electric with computer controls, many safety features, and newer designs.

Although the basic design of a bicycle has not changed since it was first invented, it has become safer, more comfortable for the rider, adapted to carry cargo (or children), and electric-powered.

And we will still be riding a bicycle in future, though it may look and feel quite different to what it does today.