Analysing individuals' use of moped-sharing and their perception about future private car dependency

Abstract

Moped-scooters are one of the latest services coming into the shared mobility ecosystem, which is why scientific contributions devoted to this actor are still scarce. This research explores two main questions. First, it analyses the determinants of the frequency of use of e-moped-sharing among adopters of these services. Second, it examines whether the use of e-moped-sharing may affect the individuals' perspective of the need to own a private vehicle in the future. To achieve this goal, we conducted a survey campaign in the four main cities of Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville) which gathered 3897 valid responses. This data was employed to build a Generalized Structural Equations Model that accounts for the influence of a variety of factors, including socio-economic characteristics, stated travel behaviour, and psychological preferences of the individuals. The results show that the frequency of use of electric shared-mopeds is higher among wealthier younger individuals and residents in the city centre. The modelling concludes that more frequent use of shared electric mopeds is negatively correlated with the belief that private vehicles will remain a necessity in the future. This effect seems to be more pronounced among high-income groups and those that combine e-moped-sharing with other shared services.