Do e-scooters increase crime? That’s the suggestion from one study of shared e-scooters in Chicago.
Micromobility such as e-scooters are an increasingly popular way to get around cities without relying on a car, and have been found to have serious benefits to the economy — with restaurant spending up 5% according to one study. But, as with any change, they come with downsides: e-scooters and e-bikes from sharing schemes are left strewn across sidewalks and they can lead to serious injuries.
Now, we have another drawback to add to the list: crime.
That’s according to Unnati Narang, a professor of business administration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who looked at data from the summer of 2019 when a trial of ten e-scooter sharing companies ran in parts of Chicago for a paper in the Journal of Marketing — and what she found may alarm cities considering allowing such shared micromobility rollouts.
“E-scooters are portable and fast, which makes them attractive tools for crimes of opportunity,” Narang said in a statement.
18% increase in crime post e-scooters
During the trial, Narang and her fellow researchers found there was an 18% rise in reported crimes such as car break-ins and thefts — a massive increase that was a surprise for Narang.
“I was very surprised by the magnitude too — but note the caveat is that these are over 18-23 weeks and also for street- and vehicle-related crimes, rather than homicide/gun violence, etc,” she told me via email. “Importantly, our paper shows that crime increases are stronger in neighborhoods with more diverse populations and younger populations which could point to the reckless use of e-scooters, especially when low surveillance is expected, e.g., weekend and non peak traffic hours.”
Indeed, she adds that communities of color and younger neighbourhoods may “bear a disproportionate share of the crime increases” — a problem, as the paper notes, because because some cities, including Chicago, introduce e-scooters to “advance their equity goals.”
“These patterns suggest that the benefits and costs of e-scooters aren’t evenly distributed, and e-scooters may inadvertently worsen inequities,” Narang added in the statement. “Communities of color and younger neighborhoods bear a disproportionate share of the crime increases.”
Because of that, Narang said cities need rollout strategies to limit crime and to engage with communities to ensure everyone benefits, and the researchers have developed an app to help people understand the impact of introducing e-scooters in their cities.
Micromobility may spark crime — or prevent it
Narang’s research echoes previous studies that considered whether bike share programmes led to an increase in crime.
In August, researchers at the University of Central Florida and Florida State University noted in a paper that there was a significant increase in crime within 25 meters of a Citi Bike docking station.
But in April, researchers at Arizona State University noted that bike sharing can deter crime via natural surveillance and increasing the speed of potential targets — it’s better to bike through a dodgy neighbourhood that walk — saying that smart micromobility can be an “effective crime prevention tool” in particular against opportunistic crimes like robbery and theft.
Beyond academic studies, there’s no question that e-bikes and e-scooters are being used for crime. Figures from the City of London Police suggested a 730% increase in crimes committed with either form of micromobility, marking a robbery a day, but due to speed limitations those are more likely to be private vehicles not technically legal in the UK rather than sharing ones, though “hacked” e-bikes continue to be a problem in the wider capital. Other British police forces have also warned about the rise of thefts using e-bikes and e-scooters.
Cannibalising bike shares?
Beyond crime, Narang’s research also raised the issue of sustainability and modal shifts. After e-scooters were made available, there was a 16% boost in rideshare trips — by which they mean the likes of Uber and Lyft — but a decline in bikeshare trips of just shy of 8%. The researchers took that to mean that riders were using e-scooters rather than bicycles, and using e-scooters as part of a trip alongside a car.
“The increased rideshare trips from e-scooters reflects what we call a category expansion effect,” Narang said. “E-scooters encourage people to take trips they might not have otherwise made, often combining trips with ridesharing. For example, riding an e-scooter to dinner, then calling a rideshare vehicle to get home. Or going to the grocery store but needing a ride back with grocery bags.”
She added: “But we also found that e-scooters don’t add to bikeshare demand. They directly compete with it, which is a classic case of category cannibalization despite greater need for new trips overall.”
Because of that, e-scooters may not be a benefit to the environment, as they increase short rideshare trips. She suggested that the impact in the study area could add up to 800 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.
This is not the first such criticism of micromobility, be it e-bike or e-scooter schemes. Rather than get people out of cars — as is the hope to decrease traffic, boost active travel and reduce emissions — these platforms cannibalise public transport and active travel such as walking.
Erica Rickard, market analyst at Berg Insight, said that different vehicle types can cannibalise each other — but they also complement one another, especially when operators offer multiple types of vehicle. “Various vehicles are suitable for different users and trip distances,” Rickard told me via email. “For example, bikes are more convenient for longer trips than stand-up scooters. Pricing and city infrastructure will also affect the demand of the different vehicle options.”
Rise in e-micromobility
Research from Berg Insight estimates that bike sharing schemes remain more popular, though scooters are growing at a faster rate: bike shares will see 5.9% growth to 34.3 million vehicles globally by 2029 while scooter shares are growing at 12.8% to 3.5 million by 2029.
She added that operational models also matter, with dockless designs adding users versus docked systems. “Some operators offer docked/station-based vehicles whereas other have dockless/free-floating vehicles, or a combination of the two,” Rickard added. “The dockless/free-floating operational model has been rapidly gaining users, as it adds convenience and flexibility for users.”
None of this is an argument against e-scooters, but a call to roll them out sensibly with a better understanding of their impact on a city.
“Cities should not assume that e-scooters automatically promote sustainability or level the playing field in terms of mobility,” Narang said. “They create a lot of externalities, and regulation and planning must address safety and fairness head-on.”
