Micromobility users’ behaviour and perceived risk during meeting manoeuvres

Abstract

Mobility patterns and lifestyles have changed in recent years in cities worldwide, thanks to the strong rise in modes of travel commonly referred to as micromobility. In this context, e-scoot-ers have experienced a great rise globally which has led to an increase of crashes involving this type of micromobility vehicle in urban areas. Thus, there is a need to study e-scooter users’ behaviour and their interaction with cyclists. This research aimed at characterizing the meeting manoeuvre between micromobility users along diverse typologies of two-way bicycle track by using an instrumented e-scooter. As a result, bicycle tracks having concrete or vegetated curb presented lower clearance distance (≈0.8 m) than those without edge elements (>1 m), with no statistically significant differences found between the interaction with bicycles and e-scooters. Additionally, an online questionnaire was proposed to assess users’ perceived risk during the meeting manoeuvre, con-cluding that micromobility users feel safer and more comfortable riding on pavements away from parked or moving motorized traffic, and on protected bicycle tracks.