“I’ll Take the E-Scooter Instead of My Car”—The Potential of E-Scooters as a Substitute for Car Trips in Germany

Laura Gebhardt,Christian Wolf,Robert Seiffert

doi:10.3390/su13137361

Abstract

Considering the controversial discussion about the sustainability and usefulness of e-scooters, in this study, we analyzed the substitution potential of e-scooters, especially with regard to car trips. Based on data from the national mobility survey in Germany (Mobility in Germany, MiD 2017), we identified trips that could be covered purely by an e-scooter. Thereby, trip length, trip purposes, weather conditions, and other influencing factors were taken into account. Our analysis showed that, in Germany, 10–15% of the motorized individual transport (MIT) trips could be made by e-scooter. Accompanied by a literature analysis, we then critically reflected on the overall potential of e-scooters and formulated recommendations for urban and transport planning.

Highlights

The transportation system is changing, among other things based on emerging technologies [1] such as shared micro-mobility services [2]
We provide an estimation of the theoretical substitution potential of e-scooters for motorized individual transport (MIT) trips in Germany, based on our own calculations and significantly better energy efficiency compared with conventional motorized vehicles [11]
3, the figure shows how many of the MIT trips can be replaced by e-scooter trips within the scenario of unaccompanied trips under 4 km

Summary

Introduction

The transportation system is changing, among other things based on emerging technologies [1] such as shared micro-mobility services [2]. Electric scooter (e-scooter) sharing, which is one of these new forms of urban micro-mobility [3], has recently been introduced to many cities around the world [4,5]. Since fall 2017, the first e-scooters have been seen on the streets of some cities in California [6]. E-scooters took over the streetscape of other US cities in the following year [7], as well as the first European cities, e.g., in Scandinavia and France [5,8]. In Germany, e-scooters were introduced in June 2019 after the government ordinance on the approval of the personal light electric vehicles regulations

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion