Analysis of e-scooter Users’ Riding Behaviour at Signalized Junctions

During the last few years, micromobility services have blossomed globally. Shared e-scooters are the main microbility mode that have become rapidly a fashionable trend. Yet, this rapid spread also made obvious that urban areas were not adequately prepared for integrating micromobility in their transportation systems. Many issues appeared related with invasion of public space, vandalism of e-scooters, and concerns of road safety. Currently, most countries have already established operating guidelines about micromobility, while some others are in the process of doing so. For establishing appropriate guidelines, or for modifying them based on the actual needs, it is important to constantly monitor micromobility operations and investigate those issues that were mostly influenced by micromobility. This paper aims to shed some light on the riding behaviour of e-scooter users by analyzing their actions at signalized junctions. Observations of 330 e-scooter users were collected at 12 signalized junctions in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. More specifically, the decision of e-scooter users to cross illegally during the red-light phase or to stop appropriately was observed, as well as the speed difference before and after the change of the traffic signal from green to yellow. Additionally, the geometry and functional characteristics of the junctions were collected as well as user-related attributes. The statistical analysis of the observations aims to identify how the two main variables that express the behaviour of e-scooter users (i.e., decision to cross illegally and speed difference) are affected either by the characteristics of the junctions or by the attributes of users.