Desigualtats territorials i regulació en l'accés a la micromobilitat compartida. El cas dels serveis de moto compartida a la metròpoli de Barcelona

Abstract

Shared micromobility services, characterised by an extensive fleet of lightweight, low-speed vehicles distributed throughout the city, available via GPS, and accessible through mobile applications, have emerged as a novel urban mobility option for short-distance trips. At a time when in cities like Barcelona, they represent a mere 1,6% of daily internal trips, the scientific community has begun to scrutinize their contribution to achieving the sustainable, healthy, and equitable mobility goals pursued by many cities. Barcelona, along with its metropolitan area, has established itself as an urban laboratory for shared micromobility operators, with various modalities such as electric scooters, bicycles, and electric mopeds, which have been attempting to establish themselves over the past two decades. The prevalence of both private and shared moped use is noteworthy internationally, prompting this research to position Barcelona and these vehicles as objects of study. In this context, this research focuses on the socioterritorial and politico-institutional dimensions of these services, which need to be considered when integrating them into the new regulations designed by policymakers. The main questions to be addressed are: What socioterritorial characteristics do the areas of the city that include or exclude these services present? How can they contribute to ensuring the right to accessibility? What type of regulation promotes spatial and social equity regarding service accessibility while preserving the economic viability of its operators? The answers to these questions have been discussed through a multimethodological approach, combining two quantitative case studies to understand the socioterritorial factors influencing shared motorcycle use, and a qualitative case study using semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in the regulation of shared motorcycles in Barcelona, to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of key regulations in European cities. Beyond providing new insights to the international academic debate, the results have contributed to strengthening the new metropolitan regulation of shared electric motorcycle services, as this thesis was framed within an industrial doctorate with the Institut Metròpoli - Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.

Date of Award	1 Jul 2024
Original language	Catalan
Supervisor	Oriol Marquet Sarda (Director) & Maria Carme Miralles Guasch (Director)