Decaying-memory experience-dependent preferences for route familiarity among shared e-scooter commuters

Abstract

Examining the route choices of shared e-scooter users allows planners to identify infrastructure priorities, understand emerging mobility patterns, and evaluate the performance of the transportation network. Studies exploring shared e-scooter route choices are, however, limited, especially when compared with bicycle route choice. In fact, no study has explored the habitual route choice behaviour of e-scooter users, for example from those who commute via e-scooter. This study addresses this by first identifying commuters from shared e-scooter GPS trajectory data in Lyon, France, and then analysing their route choice preferences. In particular, through the estimation of novel route familiarity measures, we explore i) whether shared e-scooter commuters have preferences for taking familiar routes, ii) whether preference for familiarity is experience-dependent (i.e. dependent on the travel cost of the route taken), and iii) whether commuters have decaying memory (i.e. whether they care more about recent commutes than older commutes).