Harmonizing dockless E-scooters: insights from Paris

Abstract

Improper parking is one of the most significant barriers to the adoption and acceptance of dockless shared e-scooters worldwide. This paper investigates the effects of mandatory parking regulations in Paris that require e-scooters to be parked in designated bays in the form of painted corrals. To assess the impact of these regulations and their unintended effects, we develop a novel multicriteria evaluation method around three principles: efficiency, accessibility, and compliance. Using a unique large-scale database that geolocates every parked e-scooter in the city at three-hour intervals, we find that designated parking bays improve mis-parking by reducing cluttering. However, they also unintentionally reduce accessibility. Furthermore, we provide insights into the persistence of mis-parking and the congestion of parking bays, two key factors that contributed to the ban of shared e-scooters in the city.