E-scooters and public transport – Complement or competition?

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.