Effects of Automobile Ownership on E-Scooter Choices: the Istanbul Case

Abstract

E-scooters have gained momentum as a micromobility mode for several years, which created the need for research to understand the attitudes toward it. However, to the authors' knowledge, there is a research gap regarding the effects of private automobile ownership on the e-scooter choices of individuals under different traffic conditions, a factor that significantly affects the preferences. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate the effects of automobile ownership on travel mode choices where e-scooter was an option. A stated preference survey was prepared, and responses were collected from individuals in Istanbul about the mode choices, namely private transport, public transport and e-scooter. The method used to model the travel choices was Mixed Logit (ML). Two approaches were made to observe the effects of automobile ownership: Dummy variable and market segmentation. Both approaches proved that automobile ownership affected the e-scooter choices over other modes, and different models can be developed for individuals who owned automobiles and others. Results showed that there were taste variations regarding travel time among the individuals, and travel time affected the choices of automobile owners more than the others. However, no taste variations were observed regarding travel cost. Furthermore, under congested traffic conditions, the breakeven e-scooter fare was lower for automobile owners for the switch between private transport and e-scooter. In addition, cost elasticities indicated that automobile owners were more sensitive to e-scooter cost changes. Policies regarding e-scooter use can be prepared based on the findings of this research for automobile owners. Future research directions were given.