Socio-economic assessment of shared e-scooters: do the benefits overcome the externalities?

Shared e-scooters are a trending mobility service and are usually advertised as a sustainable transport mode which could improve urban transport. However, there are concerns regarding their overall impacts. This research conducts a socio-economic assessment of shared e-scooters, considering environmental (emissions and pollutants), social (physical activity, road safety and pollution exposure), and economic (vehicle operating costs and time savings) dimensions. Therefore, we used data from 1.4 million trips from a e-scooter operator in Lisbon and a user survey with 919 responses. Results show that while shared e-scooters do generate benefits, these are highly overshadowed by their safety issues (almost e6M in annual costs). Authorities and organizations should join efforts to improve shared e-scooters' safety and maximize its benefits. To our knowledge, this is the first study to quantify the socio-economic impacts of shared escooters, so the limitations of the used methods are identified and can be improved in future research.

Automated summary

This research conducts a socio-economic assessment of shared e-scooters and finds that while there are benefits, safety issues overshadow them significantly. The study calls for efforts to improve shared e-scooters' safety and maximize their benefits.