EHUBs—Identifying the potential early and late adopters of shared electric mobility hubs

Abstract

Shared electric mobility hubs, or eHUBs, offer users access to a range of shared electric vehicles on demand. However, little is currently known about what the characteristics of potential users of this novel type of shared mobility are. This makes it difficult to plan the location of hubs and to provide facilities, which ultimately will determine their success. This paper therefore seeks to identify potential users based on an in-depth case study of a representative sample of the Municipality of Amsterdam population. The analysis employed an attitudinal market segmentation approach supported by the Theory of Diffusion of Innovations (DOI). The analysis identified four specific target groups, each with a different propensity to use eHUBs in the future. In our sample, two groups expressed an interest in using eHUBs. The first group consists of highly educated and non-car owning young adults (19% of the sample), whereas the second group shows a higher level of car ownership and a greater number of households with children (69% of the sample). The two remaining groups comprise the majority of laggards (52%), despite only representing 12% of the sample. They tend to be older, less educated, and live in a household without children. The four groups are further distinguished based on their current shared mobility use, traveler identity, and perceived barriers to using shared electric vehicles. Finally, general recommendations to practitioners and policymakers to increase the uptake of shared mobility, including paying attention to the availability, cost, and convenience of shared mobility options, are provided.