E-Scooters and Public Health: Understanding the Implications of E-Scooters on Chronic Disease
E-scooters are an emerging micromobility transportation option with implications on transportation systems and public health. To date, most research on public health and E-Scooters has focused on safety implications. Health implications other than injuries are likely, but there has been no investigation to date of e-scooter impacts on chronic disease. For example, there is some indication that e-scooters are replacing some auto trips with about a third of users self-reporting the trip would have been taken by a vehicle without the scooter. This may reduce localized pollution exposure and thus reduce cardiovascular and respiratory risk. However, e-scooter riders in various cities are reporting that about half of trips would have been taken by walking or biking. This implies a potential reduction in physical activity which has immense negative implications cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health and some types of cancers. To investigate the chronic disease implications, this project will use the Integrated Transport and Health Impact Model (ITHIM) to perform the first known analysis of E-Scooters on a range of morbidity outcomes. ITHIM is a modeling tool that uses burden of disease data and relative risks to estimate changes in mortality and disability adjusted life years (DALYS) as a measure of morbidity from modal shifts. It has been used in long-range transportation planning exercises for over a decade and will be applied to two six-month E-Scooter Pilots: Portland, Oregon (2018) and Tucson, AZ (2019-2020). In addition to modifying ITHIM to analyze this new mode, the project will investigate the sensitivity of assumptions such as length of walk to reach scooters, parked cars, and other modes. Results will inform longer-term decisions about E-Scooter status in the City of Tucson and provide a template for incorporating the co-benefit of chronic disease into other public decisions nationwide.
- Record URL:
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $40004
-
Contract Numbers:
NITC-1358
69A3551747112
-
Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590 Department of Transportation
PO Box 27210
Tucson, Arizona United States 85726-7210 Public Health Division
619 NW 6th Ave
Portland, OR United States -
Managing Organizations:
TREC at Portland State University
1900 SW Fourth Ave, Suite 175
P.O. Box 751
Portland, Oregon United States 97201 -
Performing Organizations:
PO Box 210072
Tucson, AZ United States 85721 -
Principal Investigators:
Iroz-Elardo, Nicole
- Start Date: 20191201
- Expected Completion Date: 20240301
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Diseases and medical conditions; Electric vehicles; Impacts; Modal shift; Public health; Scooters; Walking distance
- Geographic Terms: Portland (Oregon); Tucson (Arizona)
- Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01723231
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: National Institute for Transportation and Communities
- Contract Numbers: NITC-1358, 69A3551747112
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Nov 21 2019 7:40AM