February 21, 2023, Riga – While electric scooters in Latvia are still waiting for the start of the new season, “Bolt”, the leading European mobility platform, has compiled the results of a user survey conducted at the end of last year’s season about the change in mobility habits in Latvia. The survey data show that almost every fifth (18%) respondent has made a choice in favor of traveling with a scooter instead of a car at least once during the season, and slightly more than a third (36%) regularly used a scooter in combination with public transport to get to the destination.
The results of the study show that by providing affordable and convenient micromobility solutions, it is possible to promote a positive change of habits among the population, as well as to reduce dependence on cars in cities.
“We are pleased that the total distance traveled by scooter users in Latvian cities is increasing and our customers are starting to implement environmentally friendly mobility habits in their everyday life, while not forgetting about safety. By providing convenient and affordable micromobility solutions, “Bolt” contributes to a positive change in the mode of transport used, reducing citizens’ dependence on cars in cities and promoting the use of existing public transport networks. It creates a better connection between the places where people live and the places where they work, shop, study or relax on a daily basis,” says Gerda Kivleniece, “Bolt” scooter operations specialist in Latvia.
According to the conducted survey, almost 18% of users of “Bolt” scooters in Latvia refuse to travel by car in favor of a scooter, which is more than the average figure (12%) in all surveyed countries. The total distance traveled by these users is almost 1.5 million. km. Comparing the changing habits of scooter users’ transport choices in the Baltic countries, in Latvia a slightly larger share of users chose a scooter as an alternative to a car, thus ahead of Lithuania (16%) and Estonia (17%).
When moving around the city, Latvian residents increasingly choose to combine different types of mobility. 36% of scooter users regularly combine electric scooter travel with some form of public transport to get to their destination, for example, use a scooter to get to a public transport stop or continue their journey from a public transport stop to their destination after getting off a bus, tram or trolleybus. Compared to the Baltic countries, Lithuanians more often choose to combine vehicles, ahead of Latvia and being closest to the average of the surveyed countries (37%), but in Estonia the figure is only slightly lower than in Latvia – 35%. “Scooters are a form of transport that covers the first and last kilometer, so the growing synergy between the use of electric scooters and public transport infrastructure goes hand in hand with our common mission of scooters and “Bolt”, adds G. Kivleniece.
“Bolt” experts predict that in the warmer months – spring and summer – an even larger share of “Bolt” users will choose to use scooters instead of cars and the number of combined trips will increase.
The survey was conducted in October 2022 on the mobility platform “Bolt”, surveying a total of 7,000 platform users in 17 countries (Germany, Poland, Portugal, Ukraine, Romania, Latvia, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, Slovakia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark). It is planned to carry out the second stage of the research in the spring and summer of this year.
