Towards sustainable urban mobility: Investigating determinants of electric bike adoption in Pakistan using an extended technology acceptance model

• The study Investigates socioeconomic and behavioral factors influencing the acceptance of electric bikes (EBs) in Pakistan. • It utilizes the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with additional socioeconomic and environmental factors. • Employs survey data and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to identify determinants of EB adoption. • Provides actionable insights for transportation agencies and policymakers to enhance EB adoption in developing countries. The growing concern for environmental sustainability and the need for efficient transportation options have led policymakers to consider environmentally friendly modes of transportation, such as electric bikes (EBs). This study investigates the determinants of adopting EBs in Pakistan using the basic technology acceptance model (TAM) along with social influence, environmental concern, electricity accessibility, value, cost-benefit, and trust as additional factors. A survey questionnaire was developed to collect data from participants in Islamabad (capital city) and Azad Kashmir. The study employed a structural equation model (SEM) to identify the key factors affecting people’s intention to use EBs. The study findings indicate that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use significantly positively influence behavioral intention to use EBs. Similarly, perceived value, cost-benefits, and trust significantly positively affect the perceived ease of using the EB. Similarly, social influence and environmental concern have a significant positive association with the perceived usefulness of adopting EB. This finding is intuitive as people more conscious about the environment will likely adopt EB to protect the environment. Electricity accessibility has a negative (but insignificant) influence on the perceived usefulness of adopting EB. The finding indicates that electricity accessibility concerns in developing countries will hinder people from using EB. The study findings will help to understand key factors that can impact people’s intention to use EBs and provide recommendations to transportation agencies and policymakers to enhance the adoption of EBs in Pakistan. Ultimately, the results have the potential to contribute towards sustainable transportation promotion.