E-Scooters in cities: Users and usage, conflicts and coexistence with walking and cycling

Kurzfassung

E-scooters are a rather new mode of transport. How can they contribute to a transition towards a sustainable urban transport system? Interrelations between e-scooters and active mobility (walking and cycling) are very important for the future use of the according infrastructure and the ongoing transformation of urban mobility. In this contribution, we use a multi-method approach to investigate e-scooter usage, conflicts and draw conclusions for regulation as well as improvements in the system in order to be beneficial. The approach includes a Germany-wide online-survey for e-scooter users and non-users with 3,834 participants, data on 900,000 trips in shared fleets, and 27 expert interviews. Results of the online survey show that e-scooter usage is diverse and differs between users of shared and private e-scooters. The answers indicate a high potential for conflicts between active modes and e-scooter users. The majority of respondents already experienced conflicting situations, especially with parked e-scooters. The analyses of trip data reveal the spatial distribution and temporal differences in the usage of e-scooters in the city of Berlin. Expert interviews allow to widen the perspective and include the assessment of stakeholders involved. While the regulatory frameworks differ between seven case study cities in Europe, most experts agree on desired regulation measures. This contribution provides insight into the particularities of e-scooters as a new mode of transport from different perspectives. In addition, we investigate the interrelations between active modes and e-scooters using mixed methods. The main findings of the research are: The utilization is diverse and shared e-scooters are used differently than privately owned. The potential for conflicts is large. Thereby problems caused by parked e-scooters are much bigger than those caused by driving e-scooters. Further reaching regulation is desired by most stakeholders. Based on the results, we draw recommendations for a future design and according regulations.