In recent years, shared electric scooters (e-scooters) have taken cities by storm. But how are people using this new mode of transportation? A new study has some interesting data to share on e-scooter users. Self-reported safety behaviors didn’t always match with observations: the reported use of helmets (13% while riding) far outweighed researchers’ observations in Salt Lake City (2% of riders) or Tucson (2% of riders).

Funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) and led by Kristina Currans and Nicole Iroz-Elardo of the University of Arizona and Reid Ewing of the University of Utah, the study combines a user survey with on-the-ground observations to characterize the use and safety of e-scooters. The research team also included students Dong-ah Choi, Brandon Siracuse, and Torrey Lyons of the University of Utah and Quinton Fitzpatrick and Julian Griffee of the University of Arizona. The final report offers insights into what drives the behaviors of people using e-scooters, as well as those walking, biking and driving when e-scooters are present.

Gathering Data On E-Scooter Users

Along with a literature review and a review of existing agency regulations, the researchers analyzed results from an online survey, administered through the City of Tucson in the winter of 2019-2020 (prior to COVID-19 lockdowns later that spring). The online survey gathered information on stated preferences (e.g. whether people reported riding on the sidewalk, or at night) and whether e-scooters were substituted for other modes of transportation. Additionally, they looked for information on how crash experiences corresponded with demographics and riding behaviors.

Next came on-the-ground data collection. Researchers and students observed people riding e-scooters in Tucson in January of 2020; this data collection effort was soon curtailed by COVID-19 related lockdowns. In Salt Lake City, the team conducted observations in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, once e-scooter trips began rebounding. They examined how transportation infrastructure — specifically bike lanes, the presence of light rail, and the size of the facility — relates to observations of non-optimal behaviors for different mode users (e-scooters, bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers), and those behaviors for e-scooter users included:

• riding on sidewalks,
• riding in vehicle travel lanes,
• violating traffic signals,
• distracted riding,
• riding without a helmet,
• having two or more passengers on one scooter, or
• leaving a scooter parked improperly (for example blocking the sidewalk).

Researchers also recorded the behavior of cyclists, pedestrians and drivers. For more details on the observation protocols and the study sites, see chapter four of the final report.

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Materials provided by Portland State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.