The E-Scooter Potential to Change Urban Mobility—Belgrade Case Study

Abstract

As we witness a global change occurring with the advent of e-scooters (electric scooters), it is clear that adequate measures need to be taken for the implementation of this means of transport. Bearing in mind that the user should be the focus of the proposed measures, the aim of this paper encompasses the analysis of e-scooter users’ travel patterns, as well as standard scooter users’ willingness to switch to e-scooters for different hypothetical scenarios, and the determination of factors that have an influence on the users’ willingness to switch. The scenarios include the availability of various infrastructure capacities for the city of Belgrade, namely, a separate infrastructure for e-scooters, or sharing the existing infrastructure with cyclists, pedestrians and motor vehicles. Standard methods of descriptive statistics, the McNemar–Bowker test of paired samples, and multinomial logistic regression were used in this paper. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference in users’ willingness to use an e-scooter, depending on the available infrastructure. The results of multinomial logistic regression showed that the mode of transport used before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the average distance traveled, had a statistically significant impact on the users’ willingness to switch to e-scooters if they were allowed to use the cycling infrastructure. This paper also identifies additional factors that have a positive (environmental benefits, congestion avoidance) and negative (safety issues, lack of infrastructure, etc.) impact on users’ willingness to switch, which can be of use to decision-makers as a basic guideline for the adequate implementation of e-scooters in transport systems.

Environmentally friendly, but behaviorally complex? A systematic review of e-scooter riders’ psychosocial risk features

“…Alongside a rapid transformation of transport dynamics, ‘micromobility’ stands out as a very attractive option for many people [ 3 ]. Indeed, recent studies, apart from denoting its unexpected growth, highlight its effects on travel patterns, users’ behavior and community health [ 4 , 5 ].…”

“…Normally, e-scooters are relatively cheap and affordable electric devices available in (foldable) small size, light weight (commonly between 17–30 lbs., or 8–13 kg), and low maintenance costs. They can, however, reach considerable speeds with low energy consumption [ 4 , 7 ]. Further, and given their capability to facilitate commuting by avoiding traffic jams and interchangeably using different types of roads, the e-scooter trade has been strengthened by its “environmentally friendly” features, as it is considered a sustainable and low-polluting means of transport, of course as long as it is used correctly [ 8 ].…”

“…In other words, driver training and licensing procedures are not commonly required for their acquisition and usage. In addition, many of these riders are young adults, which already places them as a ‘risk’ profile according to road safety figures [ 4 , 5 ].…”

“…Another huge ambiguity is where e-scooters should circulate. Preliminary, technical studies on this means of transport tend to report contrasting results regarding, among others, the most appropriate place for their circulation, i.e., sidewalks, conventional roads, bike lanes, or all of them [ 4 , 18 ]. This has led some government entities to have contradictory opinions about, on the one hand, promoting environmentally-friendly transport solutions and, on the other, guaranteeing users’ road safety, especially in the absence of any type of road education or training [ 18 ].…”

Ways Residents of Large Cities in Poland, Commute before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Each person, depending on what does daily or where works, looks for the most appropriate way of moving (Redman et al, 2013). She/He makes her/his choice dependent on accessibility (Stępniak et al, 2019), economic conditions, often on the speed of a given mode of movement and her/his own comfort (Hjorthol et al, 2010;Bjørnarå et al, 2019), recently with one thing as a limitation, that is the Covid-19 pandemic (Glavic et al, 2021). In addition to comfort, travel time, environmental friendliness, and reliability of the means of transport, city residents pay much more attention to safety (Chu et al, 2020;Betkier, 2020).…”