Shared micro-mobility and travel satisfaction: a case study of three European countries

Abstract

Many scholars have examined the determinants of individuals’ satisfaction levels with daily travel, including the environmental, personal, and travel attributes. The choice of transport mode in daily travel is found to play a significant role in determining satisfaction with daily travel. However, so far, little is understood about what the adoption of shared micro-mobilities (e.g., shared bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters) brings to individuals’ satisfaction with daily travel. Similar studies are essential to understand the wellbeing implications of shared micro-mobility and guide its future development. This paper investigated the changes in individuals’ daily travel satisfaction following the adoption of shared micro-mobility by regression analyses based on online questionnaire survey data in three European countries (the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). The results showed that the adoption of shared micro-mobility services helps increase the users’ daily travel satisfaction in general. The travel satisfaction increase resulting from shared micro-mobility use depends on both the trip features (trip purpose and mode substitution) and user characteristics. It is greater for male, younger, and low-income respondents than for their counterparts. Nevertheless, shared micro-mobility users still report a similar daily travel satisfaction level with non-users. Our study revealed the potential of shared micro-mobility services in promoting daily travel satisfaction and provided policy insights for how to maximize their wellbeing implications.