Understanding the uneven use of rental e-scooters and implications for equity: Evidence from England’s largest e-scooter trial

Abstract

The availability and adoption of rental e-scooter services, proliferating in cities globally, are spatially and socially uneven. Studies suggest that a majority of users in North American and European cities are men with higher incomes and more education than the average. The use of shared e-scooters by sociodemographic groups that are more likely to have access to a car and a wide range of opportunities raises questions as to whether this new transport technology entrenches inequalities. However, few studies focus on e-scooter use in England, where only shared e-scooters permitted and regulated by the UK’s Department for Transport alongside relevant local governments on a trial basis are legal for travel on the public highway. These services were therefore often introduced to achieve policy objectives, and the government commissioned a national evaluation of the e-scooter trials in English cities to understand their impacts. The evaluation report suggests they are popular among low-income and minority ethnic riders, but highlights the need for further study, such as the one presented here. This article uses a transport poverty framing and a dataset of 3.6 million e-scooter trips taken over 13 months in Bristol to investigate the uneven sociodemographic and spatial patterns of rental e-scooter use. We find that, holding all else equal, more e-scooter trips are taken from areas with larger shares of younger (under 35), black and Asian individuals. However, there are fewer e-scooter trip origins from areas of greater deprivation in Bristol. This suggests that while younger, Black, and Asian populations may be more likely to adopt or have access to e-scooters as a mode of transport, fewer e-scooter trips from areas of greater deprivation indicate potential barriers to access or adoption in these communities.