Adaptive Micro Shared mobility
A need for empowering Disables to use Micro shared mobilities in the Oslo region
Several studies suggest that users of shared mobility services tend to be younger, with higher levels of educational attainment, higher incomes, and less diverse than the general population. Older adults, low-income households, rural communities, and minority communities have historically been less likely to use shared mobility.¹
Similarly, In the Oslo region, scooter sharing has become a popular alternative transportation service among youngers. Based on the research TØI have done in 2019, around 69% of the scooter sharing users are youngers and under 40 years old.²
The first scooter-sharing companies came to Oslo last spring in 2019. Right now, there are about five scooter-sharing companies (Voi, Tier, Lime, Bolt, Zvipp) that provide scooters for rent in the Oslo area.
As the number of scooter sharing operators continues to increase in every city around the world, local city councils and public authorities are spontaneously developing policies and regulations in order to make sure that provided services are in line with the defined framework.
However, these micro shared mobilities like scooter-sharing are raising several potential equity concerns through their service offerings. Generally, there are about five marked areas like 1. Under-banked households, 2. Low-income affordability, 3. Digital poverty, 4. Neighborhood service availability and 5. Accessibility for people with disabilities that are considered as the areas of concern in terms of equity.³
In terms of accessibility, we can obviously see that the disables are totally overlooked by scooter sharing operators in the Oslo region.
By way of explanation, no effort has been made by private scooter sharing companies towards covering underserved disabled users in their offered services.
Their approach raises several critical questions that seek answers. Questions like:
why no efforts have been made towards providing accessibility for disables in micro shared mobility services in the Oslo region?
There are several reasons that support this approach, but maybe the main reason is profitability. Private scooter sharing operators are more interested in serving those target groups that have more potential users to be more profitable. In other words, offering services for the minorities may not be beneficial for private scooter-sharing companies.
Moreover, providing an easily accessible shared mobility service for disables within the city is not an easy task.
Micro shared mobility operators not only need to develop a new type of vehicle that is adjusted to disables and their physical capability but also need to design and integrate a new adapted service that can serve them in a more practical way.
Consequently, covering underserved communities like people with disabilities will necessitate considerable investments for scooter sharing operators.
Besides, since no concrete regulation being introduced by local authorities to oblige private scooter-sharing companies to cover underserved communities like disables in their transportation services, they legally able to just continue neglecting and discounting disables in their services in the Oslo region.
As a result of that, micro shared mobility companies in the Oslo region are contributing to an unbalanced, selective, discriminatory fleet distribution.
This approach is challenging our society values in terms of equality and equal rights.
Bonnie Lewkowicz, program manager of Access Northern California in the US said: “there’s been this accumulation effect where people with disabilities have been left off discussions about alternative transportation. Everyone else’s transportation modes have increased, and ours have decreased,”.⁴
Our society should commit itself to provide all citizens equal access to transportation. Local Authorities in the Oslo region are responsible for perpetrating and delivering transportation services that can serve everyone. Obviously, there is a lack of attention to the underserved communities like disables in shared mobilities services in Oslo. Apparently , very limited efforts have been made by local authorities in the region to tackle the equity concerns.
But unlike Oslo city, SFMTA (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency) in San Francisco was more active and they recently conducted an adaptive scooter pilot program in Jan 2020. In the program, scooter-sharing companies were instructed to develop vehicles and corresponding services that serve users with physical disabilities based on their input.⁵
In that period, four scooter-sharing companies (Jump, Lime, Scoot, and Spin) consulted with disability groups tried out different scooter models.⁶
From the pilot tests, they were eager to deeply understand the vehicle types, fleet sizes, and program models that best fit the needs of a diverse group of riders with disabilities who have not had access to the standard shared scooter program. learning outcomes through the pilot program would consider a great help to inform any permanent program or requirements in order to move forward.⁷
In addition to San Fransisco, from January 2020 in Oakland, 45 adaptive scooters were available with adjustable seats from Lime to pre-qualified members throughout the Oakland city.
According to city officials, this was the first time in the U.S. a city required shared electric scooter companies to provide access to people with disabilities.⁸
Undoubtedly there is an essential need for conducting new regulations and policies regarding adaptive micro shared mobilities here in Oslo and support underserved communities in terms of Transportation in the Oslo region where they have been overlooked. Disables as one of the community of concerns demand more attention within the shared mobility services. To reach a more equitable transportation service, local authorities in the Oslo region primarily need to pay more attention to them and essentially increase their collaborations with the private sectors and actually require them to design and develop a practical and intelligent solution that can solve this issue in a sustainable way.
References
- Susan Shaheen (UC Berkeley), Corwin Bell (UC Berkeley), Adam Cohen (UC Berkeley), Balaji Yelchuru (Booz Allen Hamilton),” Travel Behavior: Shared Mobility and Transportation Equity”, (2017)
- Nils Fearnley, Siri Hegna Berge, Espen Johnsson, “ Delte elsparkesykler i Oslo En tidlig kartlegging”, (2020)
- Susan Shaheen, Adam Cohen, “Shared Micro mobility Policy Toolkit: Docked and Dockless Bike and Scooter Sharing”, (2019). Susan Shaheen, Adam Cohen, “Shared Micromoblity Policy Toolkit: Docked and Dockless Bike and Scooter Sharing”, (2019)
- Mallory Moench, “Companies Launch Accessible E-Scooters for Disabled Users”, (2020)
- “Adaptive Scooters for People with Disabilities”, Jan 2020
- Mallory Moench, “Companies Launch Accessible E-Scooters for Disabled Users”, (2020)
- “Adaptive Bike Pilot for People with Disabilities”, July 2019
- ” Oaklands new adaptive scooter”, Roger Rudick, (2020)
