Exploring the effect of perceived safety in first/last mile mode choices

Abstract

Micro-mobility transport modes like e-bikes and e-scooters promise higher flexibility when covering the first/last mile trip from/to the public transport stop/station to the destination point and vice-versa. However, safety concerns about riding a micro vehicle in mixed traffic limit the flexibility of shared mobility modes and make conventional ones still more attractive, e.g., private car and walking. This study investigates the effect of perceived safety in first/last mile mode choice by conducting an image-based double stated preference experiment targeted at potential micro-mobility users and developing ordinal and mixed logistic regression models. The Value-of-Safety (VoS) is introduced. It refers to the additional distance a user is willing to exchange to avoid an unsafe path. Main findings show that shared space can be a middle-ground solution, as it reports lower heterogeneity among individuals in terms of safety perceptions. The intensive use of e-scooters in mixed-traffic decreases the perceived safety of pedestrians, while e-bikers are threatened by the existence of heavy motorized traffic. Low mean VoS is also reported for e-scooters, demonstrating the unwillingness of potential micro-mobility service users to either detour or use this micro vehicle. The mean VoS of the e-bike is estimated as almost equal to that of the private car. It could be, hence, concluded that perceived safety can systematically explain the unobserved disutility of e-bikes.