Quantitative Assessment of Pavement and Scooter Suspension on Ride Quality

Abstract

Electric scooters are becoming a common form of transportation in large cities and on college campuses. These shared dockless scooters are seen as a sustainable and environmentally friendly mode of transportation for commute and recreational trips. As these scooters are gaining popularity, rider comfort will be an important performance measure for scooter companies. This research uses data from a three-axis accelerometer mounted on two scooter models - the MI M365 and Segway ES2 - to compare ride quality on a series of multi-use paths with a variety of pavement. The test route was comprised of four pavement types - asphalt, concrete, brick pavers, and permeable pavement. Results indicate that the MI M365 with pneumatic tires provided superior ride quality on all pavement types than the Segway ES2 with solid tires. A t-test conducted to test this hypothesis also revealed that the results were significant. For the MI M365, the ride quality on the four pavement types was noticeably indifferent for 20% of the time. For the remaining time, the permeable pavement provided slightly better ride quality than other surfaces.