HEaLth iMpact of E-bikes and e-scooTers (HELMET): Baseline data collection for the evaluation of e-bike and e-scooter hire schemes.

Funding:

This project is funded by the NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) Programme, NIHR159622.

What is the problem?

Physical activity is important for physical and mental health. Walking or cycling between places is one way to be physically active. E-bikes are pedal bikes which have a battery to help make cycling a bit easier, especially on hills. Using e-bikes could be a good option to increase physical activity but we are not sure. E-scooters run on batteries meaning you don’t have to push them. E-scooters may decrease physical activity if people use them instead of walking.

The government is currently unsure about whether to legalise the private use of e-scooters. The government has been testing e-scooters in some parts of the UK since 2020. People can pay to use
them for trips within each area. While certain types of e-bikes are currently legal in the UK, they can be expensive to buy and tricky to store at home. Being able to pay to use them only when they are needed may encourage more use.

What is the aim of the research?

We do not know if people’s travel choices might change when they have e-bike and e-scooter hire schemes available, and we need to collect evidence of this to inform the Government. For example, do people who would have previously driven choose to take an e-bike or e-scooter instead? Do people who would have previously walked, choose to take an e-scooter instead? Changes in how people choose to travel could therefore impact their overall physical activity levels.

How will this be achieved?

We will conduct a survey in four UK cities during the summer of 2023. Two of the cities will be
introducing schemes in the autumn that allow the public to pay to use e-bikes and/or e-scooters. Two will not have these types of schemes. This initial project will ask survey questions. We will send a link to the survey to at least 40,000 people across the different cities. We will ask about how much physical activity people do. We will also ask questions that will help us understand how people get between places, for example by cycling, walking, scooting, driving, or using public transport. We plan to ask the same questions later when the e-bike and e-scooter hire schemes have started. We can then look to see if physical activity levels have changed. We can also check if use of e-bikes and e-scooters has changed.

We will interview people to understand how they feel about these types of e-bike and e-scooter hire schemes and if they have changed how they travel. We also want to ask how easy the survey is to read and if it could be improved.

We have worked with members of the public and councils to design this study. We plan to continue working with these groups during the project.

Who is leading the research?

Dr Miranda Armstrong, Senior Lecturer in Physical Activity in Adults, University of Bristol.

Further information:

For more information or to get involved with this project, please contact bnssg.research@nhs.net