Determination of the Regularities in the Random Parameters of the Trips Made Using the Micromobility Vehicles

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the current usage of micromobility vehicles by the population in the world and Ukraine. It is appeared to be that these vehicles are a quite widespread mean of travelling for short distances. This way of travelling became even more actual during the restrictions on the trips by public transport caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Micromobility vehicles are the real alternative to trips by foot or transport because they allow users to travel safely, independently and in the fresh air as well as control the social distance and decrease the contacts compared to public transport. Also, the paper presents the questionnaire developed by the authors, and the results of the intermediate survey which allowed determining the type of micromobility vehicle (e-bike, e-scooter, electric unicycle, bicycle, etc.), age of the respondents, travel speed, and the distance which the respondents are ready to cover. During the survey, it was determined that most people choose e-scooters while e-bikes are not so widely used. The maximal travelling speed appeared to be equal to 50 km/h, and the maximal trip length – 5 km. The recorded trip lengths allowed defining the trip length distribution for all cities under study and, particularly, for the city of Kharkiv. The trip length distribution appeared to be normal that was confirmed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Chi-square test at the significance level of 5%. Also, the survey results show that there exists a demand for trips by micromobility vehicles, and it is necessary to research this demand and take it into account during transport modelling. The overall authors’ goal is the estimation of the demand for the trips by micromobility vehicles which will allow researchers to take these trips into account when developing or correcting transport models. Therefore, it will support the development of the city infrastructure taking into account the needs of the users of micromobility vehicles. In future, it will improve traffic safety for all road users. Generally, the paper is devoted to the actual issues related to the level of service and safety of road users under the conditions of the growing demand for the use of the means of micromobility.