Extending Micromobility Deployments: A Concept and Local Case Study

Abstract

Micromobility is a recent phenomenon that refers to the use of small human- or electric-powered vehicles such as scooters and bikes to travel short distances, and sometimes to connect with other modes of transportation such as bus, train, or car. Deployments in major cities of the world have been both successful and challenging. This paper reviews the evolution of micromobility services from shared bicycles, dockless systems, and shared electric scooters. The authors evaluated benefits, deficiencies, and factors in adoption to inform more rigorous and extensive geospatial analysis that will examine intersections with land-use, public transit, socio-economic demographics, road networks, and traffic. This work conducted exploratory spatial data analysis and correlation of publicly available datasets on land use, trip production, traffic, and travel behavior. Data from Washington D.C. served as a case study of best practices for scaling deployments to meet the social, economic, and mobility needs of the city.