From shared micro-mobility to shared responsibility: Using crowdsourcing to understand dockless vehicle violations in Austin, Texas

Abstract

ABSTRACT In recent years, many progressive U.S. cities have witnessed the rapid popularization of dockless small vehicles as a car-free travel alternative to meet the short distance travel demand. The research gap exists in revealing the social outcome of the massive influx of shared small vehicles on public space. To that end, this study analyzed 4,100 parking violation reports in Austin, Texas, crowdsourced from the Austin 311 non-emergency service request system. The results showed that sidewalk and other public space intrusions were the two most frequently reported violations. Additionally, it found that improperly parked vehicles in parks required the longest time to be cleaned. Among the three reporting methods included in this study, 91% were submitted through smartphone applications, compared to 5% by phone calls and 2% through the web interface. The response time of smartphone reports was significantly greater than that of phone call reports (17.4 hours vs. 2.5 hours). Finally, the GIS hotspot analysis showed that university campus and downtown were both violation clusters, yet campus violations were solved more quickly. This study proposed a shared responsibility framework of key players in shared micro-mobility management and suggested using crowdsourcing 311 system data to facilitate communications between stakeholders.