E-scooters and public transport – Complement or competition?

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2023

Subject Area

place - europe, organisation - regulation, ridership - behaviour, ridership - mode choice, planning - methods, planning - surveys

Keywords

E-scooter, Public transport, Intermodal competition, Oslo, Regulation, Intermodal trips

Abstract

The rapid deployment of shared electric scooters (e-scooters) has resulted in much attention from the public and regulators. In this paper we look at what role e-scooters have in the mobility system in Oslo, Norway.

Previous research suggests that e-scooters fill three main functions: first by serving areas underserved by other modes; second that they replace public transport (PT) trips where the generalised costs of PT are relatively high; and third that they can play an important role as first/last mile mode. In this paper we look at the interaction between e-scooters and PT. We ask: do shared e-scooters compete with or complement public transport?

We analyse competition between e-scooters and other modes by combining four data-sources: trip data from e-scooter trips; travel planner data for alternative modes; a survey conducted among e-scooter users collected for the purpose of the study; and the regional travel survey, obtained from the PT authority in the greater Oslo area.

We find that e-scooters are both competing with and complementing PT. For most e-scooter trips, the PT alternative would take twice as much time, or more. A sizable share of e-scooter trips are indeed access and egress to/from PT.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

Research in Transportation Economics Home Page:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/07398859

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