The impacts of shared e-scooters on modal shifts have received increased attention in recent years. This study provides a review of the literature for modal shifts in the US and other countries. The profile of shared e-scooter users is rather similar to that of station-based and free-floating bikeshare programs. The empirical data reveal that people use shared e-scooters in place of cars at substantial rates, especially in many US cities, which suggests that in many locations shared e-scooters may be a good strategy for reducing car dependence. The use of shared e-scooters as a complement to public transit varies highly by city, highlighting how technology, regulations, and incentives may be needed in some cities to ensure modal integration and harvest the potential societal benefits from the introduction of shared e-scooters.

A common method used to evaluate road designs for bicycling is a survey of stated opinions based on imagined bicycling experiences that are used to represent real experiences. However, we know little about the connection between imagined and real bicycling experiences. In this study, we examine the relationship between bicyclists’ (first-person experienced) and video survey participants’ (imagined) ratings of bicycling comfort and safety. We do this with real-world bike rides/surveys (n = 20) and a blocked experiment conducted through a web-based video survey of female undergraduates (n = 1,203). We show that imagined ratings resemble first-person experienced ratings, but that they have a systematic negative bias (approximately 10% to 15%). This suggests that imagined bicycling experiences seem less comfortable and safe compared with real experiences. We compare both methodological and psychological explanations for this result and the consequent bicycling implications for each.

Electric-assisted bicycles (e-bikes) may encourage commuters to shift from car to bike by improving perceptions of bicycling safety and increasing destination accessibility. Awareness of e-bikes is an important first step toward more widespread adoption. This article uses a natural experiment design to examine the impact of the implementation of an e-bike share system in Davis, CA, on awareness of e-bikes and consideration of the use of e-bikes for commuting. We use data from three cross-sectional surveys of employees at the University of California, Davis, to estimate the effect of the opening of the e-bike system on changes in awareness and consideration and examine other important factors associated with these outcomes. The results suggest that a shared e-bike system can substantially increase awareness of e-bikes, but that additional strategies may be needed to convert awareness into consideration of the use of e-bikes for commuting.