Enablers and barriers to micromobility adoption: Urban and suburban contexts

Micromobility has emerged as a crucial trend in transportation, and through its adoption, positive impacts can be realized in urban mobility, environmental sustainability, and public health. However, the enablers and barriers to micromobility adoption have not been fully understood and classified. Moreover, these factors have not been compared at urban and suburban levels hindering their widespread acceptance and adoption, which differ among various regions. Current study aims to address this knowledge gap by reviewing the literature published over the past decade on private and shared micromobility vehicles, such as bicycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters. The following two review methodologies are applied: a bibliometric analysis and a systematic analysis. The bibliometric analysis includes 3729 publications, provides a global overview of the micromobility literature and identifies relevant research directions through performance analysis and science mapping. The systematic analysis consists of 54 selected articles out of 1670 from the refined search algorithm. The identified enablers and barriers are classified into three levels of influence: micro (personal perception), meso (social and natural environment), and macro (general aspects of transport modes and policy). The results indicate a rise in pro-environmental attitudes and a desire for healthy and convenient transportation. Major barriers to micromobility adoption include poor regulations, safety concerns, and insufficient infrastructure in suburban areas. Furthermore, the lack of research on suburban context highlights the need for comprehensive studies on micromobility across diverse regions, which is critical for the development of tailored micromobility solutions that can improve the adoption rates across various socio-economic and geographical settings. • Dual-method analysis reveals crucial trends in global micromobility adoption. • Enablers and barriers are classified into micro, meso and macro levels of influence. • Pro-environmental norms significantly drive urban micromobility adoption. • Lack of infrastructure and safety concerns hinder suburban micromobility growth. • Suburban micromobility remains critically under-researched.