Consumer acceptance of shared e-scooter services for short-distance mobility

Abstract

Taiwan is an island country with the highest density of scooter commuters in the world. The promotion of e-scooters and shared electric two-wheeler service are to tackle the problems coming from scooter commuting and air pollution. With the information and communications technology (ICT) development, the scooter sharing, electric scooter (e-scooter) sharing, and electric bike (e-bike) sharing services have been launched on the Taiwanese market since 2018. The shared vehicle system consists a fleet of vehicles that are used by one or more travelers on each day. Shared vehicles offer the convenience of the private vehicle and more flexibility than public transportation alone. Sharing concepts provide a cost-effective and efficient utilization of vehicles, and reduce parking requirements. This paper concerns the scooter sharing service in the Taiwan context. The shared scooter applies ICT, e.g., wireless technologies and mobile devices, to enable accessibility for all travelers who have with a driver's license to complete the scooter rental, usage, and payment via mobile apps replacing the original scooter rental procedure, e.g., paper-based work and scooter key. The shared scooters meet mobility needs to replace the private use of individual scooters. Therefore, travelers of the scooter sharing gain the benefits of a private scooter without the costs and burdens of its ownership. Such service creates a new mobile-as-a-service market model and an opportunity for travelers to have a scooter ride. At present, the Taiwanese scooter sharing service provides the e-scooter models dedicated to shared service, and will gradually introduce the private scooters/e-scooters into the service in the future. This is to meet the short-term goal of travelers' commuting needs and the long-term goal of reducing the total number of road vehicles. This study forms an investigation into the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) evaluation method based on empirical research and survey studies for further evaluating. It is to investigate the factors that may influence the user acceptance of the shared scooters. An experimental design was employed to evaluate the user acceptance of the scooter sharing service that located at Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology that provides faculty, students, and nearby residents with free services of short-distance mobility. A questionnaire has been designed to obtain subjective feedback after using the shared service from the participants. 157 individuals participated in the experiment and completed the subjective rating. Analyses were conducted using the SPSS software, Version 22.0, was assessed by Factor analysis, reliability analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. It is to verify the feasibility of the shared scooter service in the Taiwanese two-wheeler market and further explore the important factors that positively affect the user behavioral intention towards the shared scooter service. Finally, the research results also provide a reference basis for the design of future smart Transportation. This may facilitate to create a new ecology for the scooter or e-scooter industries and to achieve the purpose of reducing scooters on the road. Also, it is expected for driving related industrial development and electric two-wheeler market growth and improving air quality and living environment.

Keywords: Air Pollution, User Experience, Utaut2, Behavioral Intention.

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1001030