Perceptions of Electric Micromobility in the UK: E-bikes, E Cargo Bikes and E-Scooters

This paper reports on an online survey of 2,000 English adults, designed to inform the debate about the potential for wider adoption of e-micromobility modes, such as e-bikes, e-cargo bikes and e-scooters. It shows that, by 2023, take-up was already greater than for electric cars, with 11% of households owning at least one of those vehicles and 9% of adults using one at least once a month. On average, users were more likely to be male, young, well-educated urban dwellers, but findings also suggested relatively high take-up by people with children, greater appeal to women than conventional cycling, and the potential to appeal to a wider range of age groups over time. Use of e-micromobility was associated with more varied mobility strategies, and lower levels of frequent car use. Over 50% of adults were interested in trying out vehicles, and evidence from other UK trials and existing users suggests that being able to trial vehicles may be key for purchase decisions. On balance, non-users were broadly positive (or neutral) towards these modes, though with particular concerns arising around the safety of e-scooters and their relationship with pedestrians. Cost, fear of theft, difficulties with storage and parking, unsafe road environments and lack of confidence cycling all emerged as key barriers. Users of e-micromobility were less likely to be sedentary and more likely to be meeting physical activity targets than non-users, highlighting important synergies with other active travel modes (i.e. walking and cycling), but any measures to increase uptake need to find ways to ensure that different active travel modes can safely coexist.