The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) released the 2023 Shared Micromobility in the U.S. and Canada report in July 2024, where monthly and yearly trends in the usage of e-bikes, pedal bikes, and e-scooters were collected and analyzed.
The report finds that shared micromobility options are a popular and growing form of public transportation, especially in major cities, and that 887 million trips were made on shared bikes and scooters in the United States and Canada within the past 13 years alone. Despite the growth in shared micromobility usage, NACTO cautions that action must be taken by cities and shared micromobility programs in order to mitigate the rising and often-unaffordable costs of using their services.
Shared micromobility ridership
In 2023, 157 million micromobility trips were taken in the U.S. and Canada — the highest number of trips taken since data was first collected in 2010, as well as a 20% jump in ridership from 2022. 133 million trips were taken in the United States alone, and Canada experienced a 40% jump in ridership from 2022 from the expansion of station-based bikes and introduction of dockless e-scooters into communities.
Bar graph displaying the number of shared micromobility trips in the United States and Canada by year, from 2010 to 2023. Ridership peaks in 2019 with 147 million trips taken, followed by a sharp decline in 2020 and an all-time high of 157 million trips taken in 2023. (Picture credit: NACTO)
Major cities in the U.S. are most likely to see the widespread usage of shared micromobility services, with 40 percent of all dockless e-scooter trips taking place in ten major U.S. cities such as Denver, Los Angeles, and New York City. However, progress towards implementing shared micromobility can be quickly reversed, as seen in San Diego.
While San Diego was one of the top ten cities in e-scooter ridership during 2022, the city reduced their number of e-scooters from 6,500 to 2,500 per day, citing high levels of theft and vandalism. By November 2023, all four e-scooter companies originally permitted to operate in San Diego ceased operations in the city, leaving residents with zero shared e-scooters to use.
Bar graph displaying the number of trips per scooter per day in twenty-five major U.S. cities during September 2022 and September 2023. Most cities had more trips taken during September 2023 than September 2022. (Picture credit: NACTO)
After experiencing a significant drop in 2020, the number of trips taken on dockless e-bikes has slowly risen, with 2.5 million more trips taken in 2023 than the previous year. Within that one-year period, the number of trips in the U.S. nearly doubled (4.5 million trips in 2022 to 6.7 million trips in 2023) and the number of trips in Canada quadrupled (less than 100,000 trips in 2022 to 300,000 trips in 2023).
A line graph displaying the number of trips taken on dockless e-bikes in the United States and Canada from 2010 to 2023. (Picture credit: NACTO)
Rising costs of micromobility trips
While shared micromobility options continue to be popular methods for travel within major cities, the growing costs for users increasingly make them less affordable and favored. Dockless e-bikes and e-scooters are particularly expensive options for users, despite the fact that the average trip is only 11 to 12 minutes long.
The report cites, "The average cost of a one-way trip on a dockless e-bike or e-scooter was around $6.00 in 2023, with the most expensive trips ranging from $11 for a 15-minute trip in Arizona to nearly $9.00 for a six-minute trip in North Carolina. At these rates, e-scooters and e-bikes are not an affordable everyday option for most people."
Recommendations
NACTO advocates for cities to increase public funding and consideration of sponsorship opportunities for shared micromobility companies in order to ensure user affordability and that companies are properly staffed and funded. Other recommendations include eliminating sales tax on shared micromobility, subsidizing trips for users beyond those in the lowest income levels, building well-connected and protected bike lane networks for road safety and accessibility, and placing shared micromobility devices and stations close to homes and popular destinations.
The full report explores data on trips using bike and scooter share systems in the U.S. and Canada during 2023 and provides recommendations for cities to support shared micromobility usage.