E-scooters and sustainability: Investigating the relationship between the density of E-scooter trips and characteristics of sustainable urban development

Abstract

Shared E-Scooters have become popular in many cities around the world. E-Scooters provide convenient and quick rides for short distances and can act as a connection for first/last mile trips. This study aims to identify spatial factors associated with scooter trips. To accomplish this, a Generalized Additive Modeling (GAM) approach was applied to analyze 159 TAZs in Louisville, Kentucky based on data between November 2018 and February 2020. Contributing factors investigated included demographics, land use, connectivity and urbanism scores. Peak-hours of E-scooter use was studied in addition to all time periods. According to the model, commercial land use percent, industrial land use percent, Walk Score and Bike Score influenced E-Scooter trip density at a TAZ level. Results were compared to studies in other cities in the US. Distributing E-scooters and implementing policies based on the findings of this study can improve the quality of micromobility services by providing an alternative solution for first-mile-last-mile (FMLM) while taking sustainability of urban development into consideration.