In recent years, shared e-scooters and bicycles have become a staple in the U.S. urban landscape, providing additional options to walking and cycling a privately owned bike to the active and micromobility transport mix. The relatively new options of shared transportation are the result of increasing numbers of
in cities across the globe. Micromobility is defined as passenger transportation using lightweight vehicles at speeds usually below 25 km/h (15mph) and driven by users personally. The most common vehicles offered publicly are scooters (either standing or seated) and bicycles (which could be docked or undocked, electrical or traditional). Furthermore, skates, skateboards, one-wheelers, and unicycles, among other small vehicles, are also included in the micromobility universe. Meanwhile, any form of transport that requires personal energy input, such as walking and cycling, is considered active mobility.
Walking and cycling participation post-pandemic
Along with many countries around the world, the U.S. experienced a cycling boom during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when bicycle sales jumped by nearly 60 percent compared to the previous year. While this appears to have had
slight impact on cycling participation through to 2022, the last year for which data from the biannual survey is available. The share of
workers commuting on foot or by bike, however, was lower in 2022 and 2023 than it had been in the years leading up to the pandemic. The private car unsurprisingly remained the
most popular mode of transport, even for short journeys. Walking, however, does play a substantial role for traveling short trips of around one mile in the United States. It is particularly
prevalent in states with large metropolitan areas. In the District of Columbia, walking trips per 100 people amount to 42 per day, while in New York State this number stood at 38 trips per 100 persons per day in 2022.
Shared e-scooters vs bikes
Regarding which
type of vehicle is the most used by shared micromobility customers in North America, the picture was well divided between e-scooters and bikes, with a slightly higher preference for the latter. In 2023, of the 172 million trips reported in the region, 59 percent of them were bike rides. On a national level, U.S. American users were more inclined to ride on an e-scooter than on a bike. The latest data shows that
more than half of shared micromobility trips were by e-scooters. It is no surprise then that the number of e-scooter systems in the U.S.
outnumbered the shared bike systems by more than two to one. As of June 2023, there were 252 e-scooter systems in the United States.
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