Complaints Analysis as an Opportunity to Counteract Social Transport Exclusion in Shared Mobility Systems

Abstract

Modern cities are associated with efficient transportation, including modern transportation solutions that reflect the trend towards sustainable development. These solutions, for example, are shared mobility services, which have gained popularity in recent years. The systems present in the markets, as well as each transport service, aimed at meeting the transport needs of the society, are also associated with the occurrence of many problems. Many of the problems can turn into transport barriers and have a real impact on the quality of transport services and the life of society in the city. To check whether transport problems occurring in shared mobility may translate into transport exclusion, the author’s own research was proposed. The aim of the study was to analyze the public negative opinions of the shared mobility services and to determine the existence of their connection with the main areas of the phenomenon of transport exclusion. The Desk Research method was used for the study, due to which 1500 opinions and complaints regarding 60 bike-, car-, and scooter-sharing applications operating in six European countries were analyzed. As a result of the research, it was shown that in all types of shared mobility, there are barriers that users complain about. These barriers are connected to the main transport social exclusion aspects indicated in the Church’s method framework. The leading areas of grievance are the system infrastructure and operational aspects. The mobile applications used to run the systems turned out to be the least problematic. Based on the results obtained, recommendations for the elimination of transportation social barriers were developed. The work supports municipalities and operators who wish to reduce the problems associated with shared mobility systems in cities.