IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/retrec/v84y2020ics0739885920301712.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic regulation and E-scooter networks in the USA

Author

Listed:
  • Button, Kenneth
  • Frye, Hailey
  • Reaves, David

Abstract

This paper looks at the challenges in the economic regulation of stand-up electronic scooters, or “e-scooters”. The e-scooter represents one of several innovative modes that have emerged to cater for transportation needs in urban areas. They provide connectivity linking local origins and destinations, as well as interconnectivity linking urban locations to inter-urban networks. These vehicles are marketed as a micro form of public transportation designed to meet the needs of fit and able people wishing to make trips of two miles or less. They are touted as part of “micromobility” complementing existing transportation networks. This paper reviews the gray and limited academic economic literature looking at the viability and economics of e-scooters within the context of the regulatory environment in which they operate in US cities. It considers the ways regulatory structures are evolving as the authorities learn of the attributes and limitations of the mode. In doing this, the paper also makes comparisons with some of the other “novel” forms of local transportation that have emerged, including those offered by transportation network companies. The paper focuses on the pre-Covid-19 period.

Suggested Citation

  • Button, Kenneth & Frye, Hailey & Reaves, David, 2020. "Economic regulation and E-scooter networks in the USA," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:84:y:2020:i:c:s0739885920301712
    DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2020.100973
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739885920301712
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.retrec.2020.100973?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baumol, William J, 1982. "Contestable Markets: An Uprising in the Theory of Industry Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(1), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Spiller, Pablo T., 2013. "Transaction cost regulation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 232-242.
    3. R. H. Coase, 2013. "The Problem of Social Cost," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 837-877.
    4. McKenzie, Grant, 2019. "Spatiotemporal comparative analysis of scooter-share and bike-share usage patterns in Washington, D.C," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 19-28.
    5. Robert J. Shiller, 2017. "Narrative Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(4), pages 967-1004, April.
    6. Kelvin J. Lancaster, 1966. "A New Approach to Consumer Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74(2), pages 132-132.
    7. Esther Duflo, 2017. "Richard T. Ely Lecture: The Economist as Plumber," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 1-26, May.
    8. Juho Hamari & Mimmi Sjöklint & Antti Ukkonen, 2016. "The sharing economy: Why people participate in collaborative consumption," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(9), pages 2047-2059, September.
    9. Leibenstein, Harvey, 1979. "A Branch of Economics is Missing: Micro-Micro Theory," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 477-502, June.
    10. Brodeur, Abel & Nield, Kerry, 2018. "An empirical analysis of taxi, Lyft and Uber rides: Evidence from weather shocks in NYC," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 1-16.
    11. Pirrong, Stephen Craig, 1992. "An Application of Core Theory to the Analysis of Ocean Shipping Markets," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 89-131, April.
    12. Jean‐Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2006. "Two‐sided markets: a progress report," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(3), pages 645-667, September.
    13. Esther Duflo, 2017. "The Economist as Plumber," NBER Working Papers 23213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Katharine G. Abraham & John Haltiwanger & Kristin Sandusky & James Spletzer, 2019. "The Rise of the Gig Economy: Fact or Fiction?," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 357-361, May.
    15. Fleura Bardhi & Giana M. Eckhardt, 2012. "Access-Based Consumption: The Case of Car Sharing," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(4), pages 881-898.
    16. Crocker, Keith J & Masten, Scott E, 1996. "Regulation and Administered Contracts Revisited: Lessons from Transaction-Cost Economics for Public Utility Regulation," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 5-39, January.
    17. Duflo, Esther, 2017. "The Economist as Plumber," CEPR Discussion Papers 11881, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Jevons, William Stanley, 1871. "The Theory of Political Economy," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number jevons1871.
    19. Elliot Fishman & Simon Washington & Narelle Haworth, 2013. "Bike Share: A Synthesis of the Literature," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 148-165, March.
    20. Richard H. Thaler, 2016. "Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, and Future," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(7), pages 1577-1600, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ouassim Manout & Azise Oumar Diallo & Thibault Gloriot, 2023. "Implications of pricing and fleet size strategies on shared bikes and e-scooters: a case study from Lyon, France," Working Papers hal-04017908, HAL.
    2. Farrell, Niall, 2023. "Policy design for green hydrogen," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    3. Shah, Nitesh R. & Ziedan, Abubakr & Brakewood, Candace & Cherry, Christopher R., 2023. "Shared e-scooter service providers with large fleet size have a competitive advantage: Findings from e-scooter demand and supply analysis of Nashville, Tennessee," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. Yunus Emre Ayözen, 2023. "Statistical Optimization of E-Scooter Micro-Mobility Utilization in Postal Service," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-25, January.
    5. Draženko Glavić & Marina Milenković & Aleksandar Trifunović & Igor Jokanović & Jelica Komarica, 2023. "Influence of Dockless Shared E-Scooters on Urban Mobility: WTP and Modal Shift," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, June.
    6. Andrzej Kubik, 2022. "The Energy Consumption of Electric Scooters Used in the Polish Shared Mobility Market," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-15, November.
    7. Aarhaug, Jørgen & Fearnley, Nils & Hartveit, Knut Johannes Liland & Johnsson, Espen, 2023. "Price and competition in emerging shared e-scooter markets," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    8. Alberica Domitilla Bozzi & Anne Aguilera, 2021. "Shared E-Scooters: A Review of Uses, Health and Environmental Impacts, and Policy Implications of a New Micro-Mobility Service," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-17, August.
    9. Hakan İnaç, 2023. "Micro-Mobility Sharing System Accident Case Analysis by Statistical Machine Learning Algorithms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-31, January.
    10. Sobrino, Natalia & Gonzalez, Juan Nicolas & Vassallo, Jose Manuel & Baeza, Maria de los Angeles, 2023. "Regulation of shared electric kick scooters in urban areas: Key drivers from expert stakeholders," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1-18.
    11. Bretones, Alexandra & Marquet, Oriol, 2022. "Sociopsychological factors associated with the adoption and usage of electric micromobility. A literature review," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 230-249.
    12. Paul Hurlet & Ouassim Manout & Azise Oumar Diallo, 2024. "Policy implications of shared e-scooter parking regulation: an agent-based approach," Post-Print hal-04422427, HAL.
    13. Tyndall, Justin, 2022. "Complementarity of dockless mircomobility and rail transit," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peter Boettke & John Kroencke, 2020. "The real purpose of the program: a case study in James M. Buchanan’s efforts at academic entrepreneurship to “save the books” in economics," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 227-245, June.
    2. Justman, Moshe, 2018. "Randomized controlled trials informing public policy: Lessons from project STAR and class size reduction," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 167-174.
    3. Benedict G. C. Dellaert, 2019. "The consumer production journey: marketing to consumers as co-producers in the sharing economy," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 238-254, March.
    4. B. James Deaton, 2019. "Agricultural economics: Key commitments and institutional alertness," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 67(1), pages 5-14, March.
    5. Dina Pomeranz & José Vila-Belda, 2019. "Taking State-Capacity Research to the Field: Insights from Collaborations with Tax Authorities," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 755-781, August.
    6. Krause, Philipp & Hernández Licona, Gonzalo, 2020. "From experimental findings to evidence-based policy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    7. John Gibson, 2021. "The micro‐geography of academic research: How distinctive is economics?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(4), pages 467-484, September.
    8. Alice Nicole Sindzingre, 2021. "Truth vs justification: contrasting heterodox and mainstream thinking on development via the example of austerity in Africa," CEPN Working Papers hal-03139457, HAL.
    9. Rehse, Dominik & Tremöhlen, Felix, 2020. "Fostering participation in digital public health interventions: The case of digital contact tracing," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-076, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Wei Yang Tham & Joseph Staudt & Elisabeth Ruth Perlman & Stephanie D. Cheng, 2024. "Scientific Talent Leaks Out of Funding Gaps," Working Papers 24-08, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    11. Boris Salazar-Trujillo & Daniel Otero Robles, 2019. "La revolución empírica en economía," Apuntes del Cenes, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, vol. 38(68), pages 15-48, July.
    12. Benoit, Sabine & Wang, Yonggui & Teng, Lefa & Hampson, Daniel P. & Li, Xia, 2022. "Innovation in the sharing economy: A framework and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 207-216.
    13. Masselus, Lise & Petrik, Christina & Ankel-Peters, Jörg, 2024. "Lost in the design space? Construct validity in the microfinance literature," Ruhr Economic Papers 1097, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    14. Löschel, Andreas & Großkurth, Philipp & Colombier, Michel & Criqui, Patrick & Xiangwan, Du & Frei, Christoph & Gethmann, Carl Friedrich & Gummer, John & Lecocq, Franck & Parikh, Jyoti K. & Sauer, Dirk, 2018. "Establishing an expert advisory commission to assist the G20's energy transformation processes," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 12, pages 1-13.
    15. Steve J. Bickley & Ho Fai Chan & Benno Torgler, 2022. "Artificial intelligence in the field of economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(4), pages 2055-2084, April.
    16. Fonseca Morello, Thiago, 2022. "Subsidization of mechanized tillage as an alternative to fire-based land preparation by smallholders: An economic appraisal of the case of southwestern Brazilian Amazon," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    17. Rao, Vijayendra, 2020. "Evidence-based development needs a diversity of tools, with a bottom-up process of “embedded” dialogue," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    18. Saileshsingh Gunessee & Tom Lane, 2020. "Is Economics An Experimental Science? A Textbook Perspective," Discussion Papers 2020-16, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    19. Drèze, Jean, 2020. "Policy beyond evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    20. Vollebergh, Herman, 2023. "Evaluating policy packages for a low-carbon transitions – Principles and applications," Other publications TiSEM 0a3c8aaf-2b01-4fe9-bfe7-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    E-scooters; Sharing economy; Economic regulation; Technical externalities; Economic core; Gig-economy; Nudging; Disruptive innovations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L91 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Transportation: General
    • L98 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Government Policy
    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:84:y:2020:i:c:s0739885920301712. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620614/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.