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Uptake of e-Scooters in Palermo, Italy: Do the Road Users Tend to Rent, Buy or Share?

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Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2021 (ICCSA 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 12953))

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Abstract

The uptake of micro-mobility, particularly the use of e-scooters has exponentially grown in Europe. The EU strategies have led to promote the decisions of purchasing, renting and/or sharing e-scooters by making some vital changes to the infrastructure. Several companies have made it possible to rent or share vehicles, while many manufacturers have marketed different models. During the COVID-19 pandemic, e-scooters have become widely popular for short distance travel in Italy as they allow the potential to maintain a social distancing. This paper aims to explore the uptake of e-scooters with an attention to propensity to buy, rent or share those sustainable urban mobility alternatives as well as user perceptions and frequency of use by comparing the periods before and during the third phase of the pandemic. Two sets of surveys were carried out with 200 participants who habitually use e-scooters in Palermo, Italy. 77.5% of the participants had to commute to work during the third phase of the pandemic. Majority of the participants preferred e-scooters as they were economic and environmentally friendly. Road users tended to buy or rent e-scooters during the third phase of the pandemic but they hesitated to share. The results of this study will enhance our understanding of the demand for micro-mobility in the context of interest and will allow for a better planning in consideration to the available options to purchase, share and rent.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the MIUR (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research [Italy]) through a project entitled WEAKI TRANSIT: WEAK-demand areas Innovative TRANsport Shared services for Italian Towns (Project code: 20174ARRHT/CUP Code: J74I19000320008), financed with the PRIN 2017 (Research Projects of National Relevance) program. We authorize the MIUR to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes, not-withstanding any copyright notations thereon. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the MIUR.

This paper is the result of the joint work of the authors. ‘Abstract’ ‘Introduction’ ‘Methodology’ and ‘Results’ were written jointly by the authors. TC and KMN discussed on the state of the art. NAT and TC designed the methodological approach and discussion. Supervision and research funding DD, and TC.

Funding

This research work was partially funded by the MIUR (Ministry of Edu-cation, Universities and Research [Italy]) through a project entitled WEAKI TRANSIT.This research work was partially funded by the MIUR (Ministry of Edu-cation, Universities and Research [Italy]) through a project entitled WEAKI TRANSIT.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Enna Kore, Cittadella Universitaria, 94100, Enna, Italy

    Tiziana Campisi

  2. Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Bursa Technical University, 16330, Bursa, Turkey

    Nurten Akgün-Tanbay

  3. Faculty of Applied Science, School of Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Okanagan, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada

    Kh. Md Nahiduzzaman

  4. School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Room 2.19, Cassie Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, N1 7RU, UK

    Dilum Dissanayake

Authors
  1. Tiziana Campisi
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  2. Nurten Akgün-Tanbay
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  3. Kh. Md Nahiduzzaman
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  4. Dilum Dissanayake
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Tiziana Campisi or Nurten Akgün-Tanbay .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Osvaldo Gervasi

  2. University of Basilicata, Potenza, Potenza, Italy

    Beniamino Murgante

  3. Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

    Sanjay Misra

  4. University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Chiara Garau

  5. University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Ivan Blečić

  6. Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    David Taniar

  7. Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Bernady O. Apduhan

  8. University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Ana Maria A. C. Rocha

  9. Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Eufemia Tarantino

  10. Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Carmelo Maria Torre

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Campisi, T., Akgün-Tanbay, N., Md Nahiduzzaman, K., Dissanayake, D. (2021). Uptake of e-Scooters in Palermo, Italy: Do the Road Users Tend to Rent, Buy or Share?. In: Gervasi, O., et al. Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2021. ICCSA 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12953. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86976-2_46

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86976-2_46

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