Prospects for shared electric velomobility: Profiling potential adopters at a multi-campus university

Electric velomobility (e-velomobility) encompasses human movement using electric-assisted bicycles (pedelecs, or e-bikes), and the associated practices, systems and technologies. It is emerging as an active mode in developed economies. Electric bicycle sharing (EBS) schemes can attain higher per-vehicle use time and provide more equitable access than personal ownership. University campuses are ideal testing beds for such systems as young and lower-income groups are present there. The goal of this study is to understand the segmentation of the market for a hypothetical electric bicycle sharing scheme located in a multi-campus university. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a multi-campus university in South East Queensland, Australia. Motives, reasons, and intention of students and staff for potential future use of a potential campus-based EBS scheme were revealed. Three distinctive potential user groups with varied modal, socio-demographic, and psychological characteristics emerged in the clustering analysis, namely: “multimodal enthusiasts” (28%), “car-loving pragmatics” (46%), and “car-loving skeptics” (26%). We identify the key market segments and potential adopters' demographics (residential location, country of origin, income, and academic major). Our results indicate that respondents who are more multimodal, especially those cycling often and with shared mobility experiences, are more positive about using e-bike sharing. Largely mono-modal car users tend to be more negative toward the scheme. International students also tend to be more positive. The individual preferences and attitudes toward campus-based shared e-velomobility, as revealed in this paper, provide important insights for planners, policymakers and sharing operators seeking to launch or improve uptake of such schemes.