New Dott research reveals causes behind e-scooter pavement riding

Credit: Dott

Dott, the European micro-mobility operator, has unveiled new findings from research using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cameras fitted to its shared e-scooters in three major cities across Europe and Israel. 

The studies measured the amount of time that riders spent on pavements, as well as identifying the causes, with the aim of reducing the practice. A selection of Dott’s shared e-scooters in Brussels, Grenoble and Tel Aviv were fitted with AI cameras from Luna Systems, gathering data from over 3,000 trips and more than 6,000km. Further studies will take place in Madrid, Lyon and London in Autumn 2023 to further understand rider behaviours across Europe. 

Pavement riding occurred on a very small minority of overall e-scooter use, with most of their time (93%) being ridden on roads and bike lanes. When it did happen, it was found that nearly three quarters (71%) of pavement riding occurrences were influenced by the road and infrastructure conditions.

The most frequent cause was riders mounting the sidewalk to access on-pavement scooter parking (33%), supporting on-road rather than pavement-based parking spots. The second most regular cause was riders using zebra crossings which lead to a pavement (23%).  

Other common causes included cycle lanes ending onto pavements (10%), as well as blocked roads or cycle lanes (7%). Only just over a quarter (26%) of pavement riding occurrences were caused by irresponsible rider behaviour. 

Laura Mollard-Dumont, Mobility Project Manager for the City of Grenoble, said: “This new technology is beneficial to both city residents, and city authorities. It improves compliance of rules, preventing conflicts between pedestrians and riders. And it also provides us with new data, highlighting infrastructure which is not working as planned or misunderstood by users. These features demonstrate a further advantage of shared scooters over private vehicles, helping city authorities to better understand the different ways to move around the city.”

Maxim Romain, Co-Founder and COO at Dott, said: “It’s clear from these findings that the majority of e-scooter riders want to use them responsibly. If they do resort to riding on pavements, it’s often because they feel safer there. We hope to work closely with the cities we operate in to use these findings to improve road conditions and infrastructure, creating environments where people feel safer and more confident using sustainable transport in the right way.” 

Dott has shared the findings with the city authorities, using mapping software which identifies hotspots for pavement riding. It is hoped that cities can use this data to prioritise which areas are most in need of infrastructure spending and street redesign. Dott can also target specific riders who frequently ride on pavements with educational tools, such as targeted messages, invitations to safe riding courses or, if necessary, removing access to the service.