If you fired up you smartphone to hail a car for a quick trip across a city and the app suggested it would be as quick and better for the environment to take an e-scooter, would you make the switch?
A new research study suggests that up to 60 per cent of people can be ‘nudged’ into swapping a ride-hailing cab for an e-scooter, potentially reducing congestion and pollution in city centres. The study highlights how technology could be used to encourage people to make ‘greener’ transport choices.
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The study was conducted by mobility firm Bolt and the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics, across 10 European cities (Bordeaux, Brno, Gothenburg, Krakow, Lisbon Madrid, Oslo, Ostrava, Stockholm and Valletta) in which Bolt both ride-hailing and e-scooter rental services. In those cities, both services are offered through a single app.
Bolt users who requested a ride-hailing trip of less than 3km (1.86 miles) were encouraged to use an e-scooter ahead, if certain conditions were met. The recommendation was only given if the scooter was within a five-minute walking distance (which Bolt and the TOI classed as 300 metres or less).
The data found that users were more likely to switch to an e-scooter for shorter trips. The waiting time for a ride to arrive was also key, with longer waits driving people to scoot instead. Finally, people were more likely to switch if the trip was close.
According to the research, depending on the above criteria 40-60% of Bolt users would switch their journey if nudged. The firm says that compared to 5-10% of people switching from cars to e-scooters in previous studies. Bolt claims that 3800 extra e-scooter trips were taken in Oslo than average during the study.
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