The potential of micromobility in the Italian cities of L’Aquila, Palermo and Florence

Micromobility is becoming increasingly important in the development of sustainable transportation. In recent years it has started to pop up in cities worldwide, changing how people travel. The research analysis has been conducted for the Long Life to Micromobility (LIFE2M) project funded by the European Commission and analyses the perception and usage of Micromobility in the Italian cities of L’Aquila, Palermo, and Florence. To this end, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The questionnaire consisted of 24 questions with the number of valid responses equivalent to n=919, composed as follows: L’Aquila n=646; Palermo n=176; Florence n=97. The data is based on 4 main socio-economic factors that could influence the perception and usage of micromobility: gender, age, education, and income. Data has been tested with the use of a Chi-square test with α = .05 meaning a 95% significance threshold, when the data met the prerequisites. In L’Aquila, 80% of females claim to have never made use of micromobility, compared to 64% of male respondents. Although significance could not be proven for Palermo and Florence, they follow similar trends. In all cities, females more frequently mentioned that ‘Safety’, ‘Comfort’, and ‘Lack of micro-mobility services’ were reasons for not making use of this transport mode. No significant differences between the income brackets and micromobility usage and perception could be found. Age-wise, several differences were noticed in the usage of micromobility. The 45-64 group was more likely to use private vehicles while the 14-24 and 25-44 groups were more likely to use shared ones. This research can contribute to developing more inclusive policies by reducing barriers linked to socio-economic factors and could form the basis for further research into the equality of sustainable mobility development.