Improving e-scooter logistics in Stockholm

In September 2020, Stockholm has had two years’ experience with shared e-scooters, and are even said to have the highest no of e-scooters per capita in the world. The market is unregulated: no permit from the City is needed to put a fleet of shared e-scooters, or bikes, on the streets. However, City of Stockholm and the e-scooter operators have signed non-binding, voluntary agreements to regulate duties and responsibilities. To increase knowledge about the presumed massive logistics when collecting, charging and redistributing e-scooters, RISE has conducted an interview study with operators and city officials in Stockholm in the MEISTER project.

Interviews were conducted in March–May 2020, and the material was analysed in August–September 2020. One lesson learned from the study is that in a rapidly developing business, this might be a too long period to get outcomes that represent the present. At the time the study was planned, most operators collected the e-scooters every night to put them back neatly on the street again with fully charged batteries the next morning. Since then, the sector has seen a rapid change in charging and redistribution routines. Several operators have reorganised their logistics operation, gone into partnership with logistic companies, started to use electric vehicles or even cargo-bikes, and/or hired in-house staff to work on e-scooter redistribution. The e-scooters are constantly improved, and now almost all operators use battery swap and have more robust and heavier e-scooters with a substantially longer life.

The study will be published soon.