Comfort Assessment of Micromobility Infrastructure with an Instrumented Vehicle

Micromobility studies sustainable urban mobility. In this area, bicycles have been the most popular vehicle for several years. However, the recent growth of users of alternative mobility vehicles, such as stand-up electric scooters (e-scooters), has raised several questions on how they interact with the infrastructure and other users, as well as whether the existing infrastructure is suitable for these vehicles. One of the variables to be analyzed is riding comfort, which can be measured through the vibrations transmitted to users by the pavement. Thus, this paper presents a methodology to assess the comfort of the micromobility infrastructure based on the vertical accelerations registered by an instrumented e-scooter. This methodology has been applied in ten sections of the cycling infrastructure network of Valencia (Spain). The analysis showed that asphalt presented less vibrations than any other material, followed by concrete and square tiling alike, and finishing with transversely oriented cobblestones. This translates directly to comfort, with asphaltic pavements being more comfortable than any other. The analysis also showed that higher speeds mean higher vibrations. This proves to be a useful tool for infrastructure management, where the administrator can place more uncomfortable pavements to lower the riding speed in desired areas (e.g., schools).