A Comparative Analysis of E-Scooter and E-Bike Usage Patterns: Findings from the City of Austin, TX

TL;DR

This study compares usage patterns of e-scooters and e-bikes in Austin, TX, revealing differences in average speeds and usage behaviors for recreational versus commuting purposes, contributing new insights into micro-mobility user behavior.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of e-scooter and e-bike speed patterns and usage behaviors, highlighting differences and similarities in a real-world urban setting.

Findings

E-bike average speeds range from 3.01 to 3.44 m/s, higher than e-scooters at 2.19 to 2.78 m/s.

Similar usage patterns for average speeds across weekdays, but differences over hours of the day.

Slower speeds are associated with recreational riding, faster speeds with commuting.

Abstract

E-scooter-sharing and e-bike-sharing systems are accommodating and easing the increased traffic in dense cities and are expanding considerably. However, these new micro-mobility transportation modes raise numerous operational and safety concerns. This study analyzes e-scooter and dockless e-bike sharing system user behavior. We investigate how average trip speed change depending on the day of the week and the time of the day. We used a dataset from the city of Austin, TX from December 2018 to May 2019. Our results generally show that the trip average speed for e-bikes ranges between 3.01 and 3.44 m/s, which is higher than that for e-scooters (2.19 to 2.78 m/s). Results also show a similar usage pattern for the average speed of e-bikes and e-scooters throughout the days of the week and a different usage pattern for the average speed of e-bikes and e-scooters over the hours of the day. We found that users tend to ride e-bikes and e-scooters with a slower average speed for recreational purposes compared to when they are ridden for commuting purposes. This study is a building block in this field, which serves as a first of its kind, and sheds the light of significant new understanding of this emerging class of shared-road users.