Research on the Impact of COVID-19 on Micromobility Using Statistical Methods

Abstract

The situation of the COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous social and economic impacts and has significantly affected the modal split. Many cities worldwide have adopted various blocking policies that affect how people travel. Micromobility systems, such as scooters and bicycle sharing, were among the transport systems affected by COVID-19. Electric scooters and shared bicycles provide comfortable and fast first-/last-mile connections for short-distance rides. The shared nature of these modes, together with the spread COVID-19, has contributed to the declining use of these services. The quantification of the impact of COVID-19 on shared services was demonstrated by this research through various mathematical methods. Satisfaction with the use of alternative modes of transport during the pandemic was determined based on the evaluation of a questionnaire survey. Independence tests of qualitative features and statistically significant associations that were demonstrated with a correspondence analysis were used for comparison. The main conclusion of the research was to point out the reasons for the preference for alternative modes of transport and to highlight the impacts on health and fears of contracting COVID-19 when using micromobility services.