Clear rules, infrastructure and education - assessing what e-scooter users want

Probably even those who have aversion to e-scooters left everywhere in the streets and careless cyclists will agree that micromobility devices may play a significant role in urban transport. It is no coincidence that the regulation of electric scooters will be part of the forthcoming amendment to the Highway Code.

In order to integrate these devices into transport, it is important to understand the needs, expectations and problems of users and potential users. Dorottya Szemere, a PhD student at the Department of Management and Business Economics, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, BME, has been working on the topic of integration as a master's student and is continuing the research in her PhD thesis.

It is not easy to do, because needs might change in a few years and the market itself changes rapidly as new tools emerge. The researcher and her co-authors are using questionnaires to find out how, why (or why not) people use e-scooters, and have also conducted interviews with people working in transport planning departments of municipalities.

"It seems that the most important thing to do would be to categorise scooters so that there are clear rules along parameters such as maximum speed or power. 

Also, the interviewees consider it essential to create the sufficient infrastructure, such as access points. The third main expectation is to educate users", Ms. Szemere told bme.hu.

The team has already published an article on the topic in the journal Case Studies on Transport Policy, and recently won a tender from an EU institution, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), so they extended the research to the European Union with an English-language questionnaire. The EIT does not give money, but organises focus groups for the survey, one a month for a year.

Anyone can fill it in

They will also continue to collect completed questionnaires - anyone who would like to take part in the research, and thus contribute to a cleaner environment with their own modest means, can do so here.

"The amendment of the Highway Code is indeed on the agenda, but there is no consensus yet, so we very much hope that the results of the survey can contribute to the development of the new legislation. For the time being, we are in touch with municipalities, they can make some rules, but we hope to find a way to contact the authorities as well," added Dorottya Szemere.

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