Do shared e-scooter services cause traffic accidents? Evidence from six European countries

TL;DR

This study investigates the causal impact of shared e-scooter services on traffic accidents across six European countries, revealing increased accidents in cities with limited cycling infrastructure and highlighting policy implications.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on the causal relationship between e-scooter availability and traffic accidents using a natural experiment across multiple cities.

Findings

Accidents increased by 8.2% after e-scooter introduction.

Cities with limited cycling infrastructure experienced larger effects.

No significant effects in cities with high bike-lane density.

Abstract

We estimate the causal effect of shared e-scooter services on traffic accidents by exploiting variation in availability of e-scooter services, induced by the staggered rollout across 93 cities in six countries. Police-reported accidents in the average month increased by around 8.2% after shared e-scooters were introduced. For cities with limited cycling infrastructure and where mobility relies heavily on cars, estimated effects are largest. In contrast, no effects are detectable in cities with high bike-lane density. This heterogeneity suggests that public policy can play a crucial role in mitigating accidents related to e-scooters and, more generally, to changes in urban mobility.