E-scooter sharing and bikesharing systems: An individual-level analysis of factors affecting first-use and use frequency

Shared micromobility modes have increasingly penetrated the mobility environment of cities in the U.S. and the world over. At the same time, to best integrate these emerging modes within the fabric of the existing (and larger) transportation ecosystem, it is critical to understand how individuals may respond and "who" the likely users of these relatively new modes may be. In this paper, we develop a model to analyze first-use and use frequency of two micromobility modes: Escooter sharing systems (ESS) and Bike sharing systems (BSS). The model employs psycho-social constructs, built environment attributes, as well as individual-level demographics as determinants. In doing so, we explicitly recognize the role played by awareness/first-use of new technologies as a cognitive antecedent to subsequent frequency decisions. The main data source for this analysis is drawn from a 2019 survey of Austin, Texas area residents. Our results highlight the importance of considering psycho-social attitudes to both gain better insights into the behavioral process leading up to ESS/BSS adoption/use as well as ensure an accurate data fit. In particular, there are distinctive pathways of adoption/use frequency for each of the ESS and BSS modes, but also complementary processes and behavioral spillover effects at play that warrant a joint modeling of the ESS and BSS modes. Our results suggest that addressing safety concerns of micromobility modes should be the top priority of providers and public agencies. Efforts solely directed toward extoling the "green" virtues of micromobility modes is likely to have limited returns.