As one of the micro-mobility solutions, dockless electric kick scooters (e-scooters) are widely used because they are compact, lightweight and easy to operate. Due to the undisciplined use of e-scooters and the violation of traffic rules by e-scooter users, safety problems and complaints from other road users occur. In a master thesis[1], a participant of the Automotive MBA analyzed the current use of e-scooters and predicted their future potential as a micromobility solution to reduce individual motorized traffic and their impact on environmental issues especially in Vienna's inner city - Vienna's first district.

First, the environmental aspects were investigated for the case that motorized individual traffic in the inner city is replaced by e-scooters. For the investigation, it was necessary to determine the annual number of movements and the annual travel distance of motorized individual traffic in the Vienna city center. The number of motorized individual traffic into the city center was counted at 33 locations/streets in the city center that serve as entry roads into the city center. As a solid baseline, the number of vehicles on Kärnter Strasse was counted on weekdays and weekends. At the other 32 locations, the number of vehicles was counted for 30 minutes. This made it possible to estimate the annual travel distance of motorized individual traffic in Vienna's inner city. A European study shows that the carbon footprint of e-scooters is not much smaller than that of cars. According to the study[2], the average CO2 emissions of private motorized transport such as diesel cars are 179.6 g/pkm (grams per passenger kilometer), while those of dockless e-kick scooters are 126 g/pkm. Dockless e-kick scooters produce less than 5% CO2 emissions from operation. Most of the emissions are generated during the manufacturing and maintenance of the e-scooters. Based on the results through the optimal use of e-scooters a maximum of 210 tons of carbon dioxide can be saved for the inner city. This value can be increased by further development of e-scooters. This study shows that e-scooters will have a positive impact on the environment in downtown Vienna.

In summary, it is difficult to predict the future of e-scooters in Vienna. Safety issues and complaints about e-scooters still overshadow the benefits of these vehicles. Vienna has a very well functioning public transport system. Therefore, the practical and widespread use of e-scooters in Vienna is limited. Certainly, e-scooters have the potential to replace individual motorized transport. There are still problems to be solved, such as the regulation and improvement of e-scooters in terms of safety, technology and economic aspects.

Technological & social development and the new business model lead the radical changes in the industry, especially automotive industry. The automotive industry needs a new generation of leaders to master these challenges. Leaders with the ability to handle the technological and societal changes, leaders who can help their organizations stay competitive on the market and leaders who have the skills to manage their businesses successfully in an uncertain and complex environment. TU Wien is offering an MBA Program to train the future managers in the automotive and supply industry - MBA Automotive Industry, opens an external URL in a new window.

On April 15, 2021 at 4.00 pm the Virtual Info Afternoon takes place. The academic director and program team present the MBA program and answer the question. For further information about the event please visit the following event page >>, opens an external URL in a new window

[1] Jovicic, Goran. E-Scooters in Inner City Vienna - Deployment Prospects and Environmental Impact. Wien, 2020. Web.

[2]https://public.tableau.com/views/20191202_CO2byTransportVehicle/AVERAGECARBONEMISSIONSBYTRANSPORTMODE?:embed=y&:embed_code_version=3&:loadOrderID=0&:display_count=y&publish=yes&:origin=viz_share_link&:showVizHome=no, opens an external URL in a new window  accessed on March 22, 2021