Addressing the Urgent Need for E-scooter Regulation in Hungary

Abstract

The role of electric scooters is becoming increasingly important for sustainable transport development. E-scooters and other light electric vehicles are generally more efficient in urban environments than electric cars, taking up less road space and resulting in lower energy consumption per trip. Our research involved a systematic literature review to investigate the integration of e-scooters into the existing transport infrastructure network. An online survey was conducted to explore public perceptions and usage patterns of e-scooters, assessing factors such as safety, comfort and preferred speeds. The survey presented five different scenarios in two locations, each illustrating different infrastructure solutions for e-scooters. A total of 137 valid responses were analyzed.
Our study showed that infrastructure with dedicated space for bicycles should be preferred for e-scooters. Respondents indicated that the safest solution for e-scooters would be to use the bicycle facility where it is provided followed by the sidewalk, while using the traffic lane received a low rating. There were significant differences in the perception of safety and comfort by different user groups, with cyclists being the only group where we found the smallest deviation in safety and comfort ratings across scenarios. Speed limit preferences for e-scooters also depend on infrastructure provision. Speeds of 15 km/h or less are preferred for sidewalks, 15 km/h or more for bicycle infrastructure, and slightly higher for traffic lanes. In conclusion, our study highlights the need for proactive regulation to address the increasing presence of e-scooters on our existing infrastructure.