Venere Stefania SANNA, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Aniko BERNAT, TÁRKI Social Research Institute, Hungary
Vera Lúcia DIOGO, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal
Agnieszka LUKASIEWICZ, The Road and Bridge Research Institute, Poland
João Filipe TEIXEIRA, University of Porto, Portugal
Egle VAICIUKYNAIT?, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Bike and e-scooter sharing systems have become a common feature of the modern urban landscape in many European cities (Shaheen et al 2010), and recently a bewildering variety of battery-powered vehicles have appeared scattered all over the sidewalks of major urban centres, providing residents and visitors with a new mode of light and sustainable transportation.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on every aspect of urban life, and one of the key public health measures adopted worldwide to slow the spread of the virus has been the restriction of movement. Nevertheless, the effects of such measures on urban mobility have not been identical everywhere, nor all means of transportation (Bucsky 2020, Diogo et al 2021).
This paper discusses the results of a comparative and survey-based research carried out in 2021 on five European capital cities: Budapest, Lisbon, Rome, Vilnius and Warsaw. After examining the complex landscape of urban bike and e-scooter sharing practices in these cities, in order to shed light on the main changes occurred during the pandemic, the comparative analysis focuses on (i) practices and frequency of use of bike and e-scooter sharing before and during the pandemic, (ii) substitution effects caused by the Covid-19 and (iii) changes in behavioral attitudes toward these schemes.
It is still unclear if the majority of these sharing schemes will survive once ‘normal life’ resumes, but there remain valuable conclusions to be drawn by comparing the differing approaches and outcomes of cycle and e-scooter sharing systems from multiple perspectives. The results of this comparison can frame important approaches to such transport options, such as equity and accessibility (Ricci 2015), potential environmental impact (Teixeira et al 2020), and their ability to transform social and cultural values in the context of a “caring” and just economy.
Mots clés : bike sharing|e-scooter sharing|European capitals|micro-mobility|Covid-19
A103229VS