MICROMOBILITY
WHAT ARE THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF SHARED E-SCOOTERS?
Rebecca Morley takes a look at Voi’s recently commissioned report on the impact of its shared e-scooter schemes
E
-scooter schemes have had an undeniable impact on UK transport since trials launched in 2020, with many welcoming the more
sustainable travel option while others questioned the safety of the vehicles. But there is a knowledge gap around the socio-economic impacts of the micromobility industry, according to shared e-bike and e-scooter provider Voi, which the company is now seeking to address by commissioning a new report. The report, carried out by Volterra Partners, found that
shared e-scooters enable more high street visits, while also bringing shoppers and visitors back from retail parks and online shopping to city and town centres in the areas that it operates in.
KEY FINDINGS
High streets E-scooter operations could lead to a £1.2 billion boost for the studied trial areas’ struggling high streets if introduced permanently, as a result of increased food and beverage (F&B) expenditure alone. In 2022 alone, this equates to £32 million in extra expenditure,
supporting an estimated 700-1,400 jobs per year in the studied trial areas.
It is estimated that between 0.1% to 0.7% (Birmingham, the minimum; Bristol, the maximum) of all shopping trips in a trial area are carried out by users on the studied operator’s e-scooters for the different locations around the UK. In 2022, it is estimated that approximately £8.7 million will be
redistributed from out of centre retail parks and online shopping towards (non-F&B) retail shopping on the high streets in the studied trial areas.
Equality In total, one in four trips either start or end in the country’s top 20% most deprived areas. On average, 30% of users ride a shared e-scooter to get to or
from work.
This is greater than the 15% proportion of all trips in the 2019 National Travel Survey (prepandemic) that were estimated to have a main purpose of commuting.
Transport It is estimated that the studied operator’s presence has removed at least four million independent car trips from the road to date (April 2022). This figure is expected to rise to 6.1 million by end of 2022 and
10.9 million by the end of the trial period. If made a permanent solution, the studied e-scooter operations
could result in up to £64 million of decongestion benefits to existing highway users and up to £273 million of benefits in travel time savings from users moving from walking to e-scooters in the studied trial areas (over the permanent appraisal period).
Other social impacts It is estimated that the studied operator’s e-scooter operations could result in £36 million and £477 million in mental health and wellbeing benefits over the two appraisal periods. In the year of 2022 alone, the studied operator’s e-scooters is expected to deliver £11 million in wellbeing benefits.
Voi’s shared e-scooters can be found in 17 towns and cities across the UK, including Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Oxford and Southampton. All figures relate to the operator’s existing trial areas alone, and the socio-economic benefits by all trial e-scooters across the UK could be far greater, Voi said.
42 | December 2022
www.bikebiz.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
