Governing Micro-Mobility: A Nationwide Assessment of Electric Scooter Regulations

The character of urban transportation and mobility is dramatically changing in part because of the explosive growth of shared-use modes (SUM) of travel such as ridesourcing, bikesharing, carsharing and, more recently, electronic (e-)scooter-sharing. Although these new forms of mobility are freeing riders from mode- and ownership-constrained choices of travel, they are also creating tremendous uncertainty among planners and policymakers who are struggling to both understand and manage their potential impacts. Developing, adopting and enforcing regulations that aim to maximize transportation options while simultaneously ensuring public safety and the public good is proving to be a challenging task for municipal transportation planners given the rapid pace at which new systems of travel are evolving. Greater coordination between cities and the private and public sectors via the sharing of policy responses and transportation technology information will help facilitate collective learning and smoother transitions toward growing alternative transportation options in cities. Toward this end, the present paper draws from contemporary news articles, municipal and statewide policies and professional reports to provide timely guidance related to e-scooter sharing programs including information about vendors, vehicles, programs and novel regulatory responses.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADB20 Standing Committee on Effects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on Travel Choices.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Anderson-Hall, Kirstin
  • Bordenkircher, Brandon
  • O'Neil, Riley
  • Scott, Smith C
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2019-1-13 to 2019-1-17
• Date: 2019

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 18p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: City planning; Mobility; Regulations; Scooters; Transportation planning; Urban transportation policy; Vehicle sharing
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01697788
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 19-05267
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 1 2019 3:51PM