E-scooter App qualitative study suggestion
The following is a set of e-scooter mobility research texts where qualitative methods are applied. Furthermore, at the end of each paragraph, I highlight the qualitative methods being used in the research.
Example 1: “Exploring e-bikes as a mode of sustainable transport: A temporal qualitative study of the perspectives of a sample of novice riders in a Canadian city: E-bikes as sustainable transport.” (Edge, Dean, Cuomo, Keshav, 2018)
In this paper, as the name suggests the authors are trying to explore the opportunities of e-bike technologies as new mean of transportation in Northern America, conducting the study in a Canadian city, Ontario. The authors have used several qualitative methods such as focus groups and interviews to collect data about the behaviors, experiences, and perceptions of the new users of this kind of technology. This new information expanded the limited knowledge that existed until 2018 for urban e-bike usage, impacts and challenges. Themes discussed include the type of trips, implications for physical activity, multi-modal transit, limitations, etc., The paper emphasizes the importance of continuous qualitative research for understanding how e‐bikes influence physical activity, health, and safety; how demographic and physical environmental factors influence decisions around modal shift; and differences in use patterns.
Qualitative methods used: Longitudinal Focus Groups, Interviews
Example 2: “2018 E-Scooter Findings Report” (City of Portland, Oregon, 2018)
In this research paper report developed by the state of Oregon, USA for the city of Portland, they give a very detailed overview of the operational opportunities inside the city regarding the newly emerged e-scooter technology. They explain how they tried to embrace this new solution, while every other state in the country banned it. A framework was designed to assess how this new technology can meet Portland’s transportation needs. The data was collected through both, quantitative and qualitative methods from several sources. As a research conducted by the state it was relatively easy to obtain the data from the institutions and organizations. Some of the quantitative methods for data collection included data provided by companies, hospitals, surveys, and polls. However, sets of qualitative methods are used to make sense of the quantitative insights. These qualitative methods consisted of separate focus group of communities, observations from the staff of users’ riding and parking, and asking for feedback or supporting any complain about these services via different channels.
Qualitative methods used: Separate Focus Groups, Observations of users riding and parking, Feedback & Complaints
Example 3: “On the verge of change: Maverick innovation with mobility scooters.” (Birtchnell, Harada, Waitt, 2018)
This paper offers insights into how disruptive innovations and experimentation on the individual efforts of mobility scooter users conceived as “mavericks” can influence socio-technical transitions of the drivers. It reports on an original study conducted with a set of qualitative mixed methods and carefully adopting an ethnographic approach. It was developed within three waves of fieldwork to collect the data. The specific methods used were interviews, travel-diaries (followed up by conversation rounds) and “go-along”-s. This combination of methods offered insights to the users’ experiences, meanings, and skills.
Qualitative methods used: Interviews, Travel-diaries and Go-alongs
A Qualitative research proposition
The following is a preliminary research plan which aims using qualitative methods. Some of the major challenges the business of e-scooter mobility is facing today in smart cities, including Stockholm, are:
- vandalism (Security & Protection)
- a significantly better user experience from the competition (User Experience)
- developing and maintaining good relationships with their customers, both the cities and the end-users (Partnership, Relationships & Trust)
- safety on the street, infrastructure (Safety & Expansion)
These can all be used as the theme for our research study, as they represent a significant aspect for the company to build strong foundations on. Any of these themes should have a proper user research which include both, quantitative and qualitative methods. However, I would prioritize Safety — safety on the street. Why? Because any failure in securing Safety for our customers can bring about fatal consequences for them, but also a bad reputation for the company, up to a probable ban of operation from authorities.
Recommendation from the industry (EY, 2020):
“Support safety efforts and invest in alternative mobility infrastructure. Safe mobility is a shared responsibility between governments, cities, and service providers. A report published in February 2020 by ITF concludes that e-scooter riders do not face a significantly higher risk of road traffic death or injury than cyclists. In fact, the real danger on the road remains cars, with heavy motor vehicles at higher speed involved in 80% of fatal crashes with cyclists and e-scooter riders. The report’s recommendations for policymakers and city planners include creating protected and connected infrastructure for micromobility. This dramatically increases adoption and safety of the mode, by ensuring car and other modes are separated. Furthermore, traffic calming measures (e.g., speed reduction) has a positive effect on micromobility safety.”
This is not sufficient to solve the problem. There should be more to this issue than giving and following recommendations on safety. We should come up with new ways to make our customers feel safe while using our service. To do that, it is important to do a qualitative research on the matter.
Preliminary plan
- Find information on the total number of users; users categorized by gender, age.
- Find information for all the accidents and other safety related events.
- Find information on the witness of accidents with e-scooters.
Qualitative Methods to use
Semi-Structured Interviews:
- Recruitment:
- People who have had relatively good experience with these services
- People who have had accidents or injuries while using these services
- People who witnessed a bad experience/accident with e-scooter services.
Questions (should try to follow up in every question):
Sections:
1. The preparation and the theory behind safety
- Do you know the regulations on how and when to use this service?
- Do you understand the implications of them? (Discuss it.)
- How do you prepare yourself safety-wise to use e-scooters? (Mentally and physically)
- Do you think there are things that can be done to improve the safety of the users, by the company?
- Do you avoid crowded roads? If yes, ask for the strategy.
2. The actual experience
- Do you wear the helmet?
- For what kind of distances do you use the service?
- How do you follow the recommendations for a safe driving experience?
- How do you react/act in a risky situation?
- What is the maximum speed you have driven? Why?
Focus Groups:
Groups with people from different age ranges to discuss about:
Safety & Priority on the road
- Do they follow the rules?
- What do they think about other people following the rules?
Observations:
- Observe at least one person from different age ranges during the ride*
- Observe people from different genders during the ride*
- Observe people who use the e-scooter in couple during the ride*
Details about observation:
- How are they feeling(looking)?
- Are they focused and concentrated on the task?
- What paths do they follow (main or secondary)?
- How do they park the device?
*during the ride — the starting, during and the end of the ride
References:
[1] Sara Edge, Jennifer Dean, Michelle Cuomo, Srinivasan Keshav. (2018). Exploring e-bikes as a mode of sustainable transport: A temporal qualitative study of the perspectives of a sample of novice riders in a Canadian city: E-bikes as sustainable transport. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien. 10.1111/cag.12456.
[2] City of Portland, Oregon. (2018). 2018 E-Scooter Findings Report. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/709719
[3] EY. (2020). Micromobility: Moving cities into a sustainable future. https://www.voiscooters.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/20200316_EY_Micromobility_Moving_Cities_into_a_Sustainable_Future.pdf
[4] Thomas Birtchnell, Theresa Harada, Gordon Waitt. (2018). On the verge of change: Maverick innovation with mobility scooters. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 27. 118–128.
[5] Dourish, Paul. (2006). Implications for Design. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems — Proceedings. 1. 541–550. 10.1145/1124772.1124855. [6] Tricia Wang. (2013). Big Data needs Thick Data. http://ethnographymatters.net/blog/2013/05/13/big-data-needs-thick-data/
[6] Elizabeth Churchill. (2017). The Ethnographic Lens: Perspectives and Opportunities for New Data Dialects. https://www.epicpeople.org/ethnographic-lens/
