Expectations, impacts, and contradictions of e-scooters from a social exclusion perspective: Reflections from London's rental trial

Abstract

There are few attempts at introducing new personal transport technologies have made as much noise as the relatively recent appearance of electric scooters (e-scooters) in cities as an on-demand shared mobility service supported by digital platforms. In London, United Kingdom, urban pilots for shared e-scooter services have been met with significant disruptions stemming from issues that range from the pandemic to regulatory uncertainty, recent political shifts, and slow legislative processes. This paper seeks to address gaps in reliable evidence about e-scooters’ positive and negative contributions to social and environmental development goals using a qualitative approach grounded in a framework of transport-related social exclusion. The framework comprises of eight dimensions linked with usage of new modes of personal transport technologies: 1) geographic, 2) spatial, 3) from facilities, 4) economics, 5) time-based, 6) physical, 7) fear-based, and 8) discrimination. The paper builds on semi-structured interviews with 27 stakeholders representing diverse organisations in the public, private, and third sectors, and an online survey with over 1000 respondents, including users and non-users of private and shared e-scooters. We interrogate the practices, experiences, and expectations of stakeholders within London’s, as well as the United Kingdom’s urban micro-mobility landscape. The paper expands on current research efforts that are concerned almost exclusively with the environmental, road traffic safety, and reductionist interpretations of ‘inclusion’ and ‘accessibility’, adding depth and nuance to discussions on intersectionality, deprivation, as well as social and cultural values in the planning of on-demand shared mobility services.