User characteristics and preferences for micromobility use in first- and last-mile journeys in Dublin, Ireland

Abstract

Micromobility and public transport integration is an area of urban mobility that has been increasingly gaining attention and importance. The necessity to provide improvements to public transport services and their spatial reach in order to reduce the number and volume of car trips in cities is irrefutable. The integration of micromobility and public transport is often presented as a valuable strategy to improve door-to-door connectivity and coverage of existing public transport services, via provision of key first- and last-mile or access-egress connections. The aim of this study was to understand and model the propensity of commuters in County Dublin to use micromobility (private and shared) in the first- and last-miles of their public transport journeys. A stated preference experiment was conducted with a focus on these specific segments of the journey and a mixed logit model was estimated to identify user characteristics and preferences based on socio-economic factors, mobility patterns and attitudes towards and previous experience of shared mobility. The results show that, in this particular case study, respondents with a strong walking preference were less likely to be interested in private micromobility and sharing services for the first- and last-mile. A common assumption that walking is a last resort, and only chosen when there are no other options available was not confirmed by the findings of this study. Moreover, competition between the modes showed that private bicycles are the preferred mode after walking, followed by private e-scooters, while shared modes were less likely to be chosen over walking, and shared e-scooters less so than shared bicycles. Overall, the findings suggest that a small percentage of the sample – mainly young (<35 years old) and male respondents with interest in and experience of e-scooters – were interested in using private and shared e-scooters for the first- and last-mile, but that the majority of the respondents were likely to choose walking, albeit with longer travel times overall.