Evaluation of e-scooter usage in Helsinki Capital Region: System and user perspectives

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School of Engineering | Doctoral thesis (article-based) | Defence date: 2025-09-19
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Date

2025

Department

Rakennetun ympäristön laitos
Department of Built Environment

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Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

76 + app. 86

Series

Aalto University publication series Doctoral Theses, 160/2025

Abstract

The rise of micromobility, particularly shared electric scooters (e-scooters), has introduced significant shifts in urban mobility, offering an alternative to motorized vehicles. The rapid deployment of shared e-scooters could positively and negatively impact the urban transport system. While research on e-scooter deployment is expanding, a structured analytical framework is lacking. This dissertation addresses this gap by employing a two-layered analytical framework to assess the implications of e-scooter deployment at both system and user levels. The data used in this dissertation is an online questionnaire survey in Helsinki Region containing sociode mographic characteristics of e-scooter users and non-users, trip purpose, reasons, their opinion on e-scooter deployment in Helsinki, perceptions towards e-scooters and their implications as well as mode substitution effect of e-scooters. In the first framework layer, to analyze the escooter deployment impacts and implications on the system-level mobility, a systematic literature review was conducted to understand the spatial and temporal distribution of e-scooter-related trips in the previous studies. Then, through a descriptive cross-tabular analysis, we investigated the escooter mode substitution effect on other transport modes. Furthermore, we analyzed the key factors that affect e-scooter mode substitution for six different modes in Helsinki using logit models. At the user-level layer, we tried to develop different e-scooter user and non-user profiles by deploying a systematic literature review and clustering methodology. The system-level analysis of e-scooter deployment indicates that e-scooters are predominantly used during midday and evening hours, particularly on weekends and in areas with recreational and educational land uses, city centers, and locations with well-developed walking and cycling infrastructure. In Helsinki, e-scooters were found to primarily substitute taxi/ride-hailing, bus/tram, and car trips. The user-level analysis of e-scooter users and non-users revealed that e-scooter users can be categorized based on their usage frequency and motivation, while non-users were classified into five distinct groups with varying degrees of negative perspective towards e-scooters, influenced by sociodemographic characteristics and motivations. Additionally, key factors affecting e-scooter mode substitution were identified, including usage frequency, private e-scooter ownership, trip purpose, reasons for use, age, income, and residential location. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of e-scooter deployment’s system-level and user-level impacts, providing valuable insights for urban mobility planning and policy development.

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Supervising professor

Mladenović, Miloš, Prof., Aalto University, Department of Built Environment, Finland

Thesis advisor

Vosough, Shaghayegh, Asst., Prof., Aalto University, Department of Built Environment, Finland

Keywords

electric scooters, modal shift, safety, sustainable urban mobility, shared mobility, rental e-scooters

Other note

Parts

  • [Publication 1]: Dibaj, Samira; Hosseinzadeh, Aryan; Mladenović, Miloš N.; Kluger, Robert. 2021, Where have shared e-scooters taken us so far? A review of mobility patterns, usage frequency, and personas. Sustainability 13, no. 21: 11792.
    Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202111019870
    DOI: 10.3390/su132111792 View at publisher
  • [Publication 2]: Dibaj, Samira; O’Hern, Steve; Vosough, Shaghayegh; Mladenović, Miloš N. E-scooter mode substitution in Helsinki, Finland. Travel Behaviour & Society, Under review
  • [Publication 3]: Dibaj, Samira; Keiichi, Hizaki; Goto, Rie; Taniguchi, Ayako; Mladenović, Miloš N. 2025. Latent class approach to classify e-scooter non-users: A comparative study of Helsinki and Tokyo. Travel Behaviour & Society, 39, p.100941.
    Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202411137088
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tbs.2024.100941 View at publisher
  • [Publication 4]: Dibaj, Samira; Vosough, Shaghayegh; Kazemzadeh, Khashayar; O’Hern, Steve; and Mladenović, Miloš N. 2024, An exploration of e-scooter injuries and severity: Impact of restriction policies in Helsinki, Finland. Journal of Safety Research 91: 271-282.
    Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202410026620
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2024.09.006/ View at publisher

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https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-64-2690-7

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