Barriers to urban mobility sharing in European cities: why people resist bike and e-scooter sharing systems

Over the past few years, urban shared micro mobility systems - such as bike and e-scooter sharing schemes - have been promoted in many European countries as means to foster a more just, sustainable, and healthier urban life. Accessing these systems might be more affordable for vulnerable and low-income social groups than other means of transportation, and therefore could foster social and labour market integration of groups such as youths and/or the unemployed, via affordable access to effective urban transportation. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, emphasis on light and shared mobility systems was reinforced, and such schemes were promoted by several national and local governments as safer and feasible alternatives to public transportation and private cars. There is currently a scarcity of research on the use of these means of transportation during the Covid-19 period, but this article aims to address an even less examined research topic, namely the motivations of non-users. What are the resistance points from potential users who have access to these services but do not wish to reap their transport, environmental, and social benefits? The analysis provides results from a comparative and survey-based research carried out in 2021 in five European capital cities: Budapest, Lisbon, Rome, Vilnius, and Warsaw, and discloses the principal motivations of non-users of bike and e-scooter sharing systems before and during the pandemic period, when these means were strongly promoted for safety and health reasons.