Electric mobility hubs (eHUBS) represent an innovative approach to providing diverse shared electric transportation options, aimed at curbing private car use, and mitigating associated environmental impacts. Assessing the impact of eHUBS on travel choices across different cities requires significant resource and time investment due to the need for localized data collection and model development. This paper proposes a potential solution to this challenge by investigating the transferability of mode choice models originally developed for eHUBS in Amsterdam to predict behaviour towards eHUBS in Manchester. Multinomial Logit (MNL) and mixed logit models were transferred using four different procedures, and their effectiveness was evaluated using three assessment measures. The findings indicate that a scaled mixed logit model with an updated Alternative Specific Constant (ASC) outperforms other models in terms of its transfer effectiveness, both for disaggregate and aggregate assessment measures. The interplay between transfer procedures and assessment measures also was examined, with results indicating enhancements in disaggregate transferability measures with the 'scaling' transfer procedure, while 'updating the Alternative Specific Constants (ASCs)' improved predictions of aggregate mode shares. Following the analysis, the paper presents an in-depth discussion to provide a nuanced understanding of transferability and thus offers valuable insights for researchers planning future studies and practical considerations for policymakers.

Electric mobility hubs (eHUBS) are locations where multiple shared electric modes including electric cars and e-bikes are available. To assess their potential to reduce private car use, it is important to investigate to what extent people would switch to eHUBS modes after their introduction. Moreover, people may adapt their behaviour differently depending on their current travel mode. This study is based on stated preference data collected in Amsterdam. We analysed the data using mixed logit models. We found that users of different modes not only have varied general preferences for different shared modes but also have different sensitivity for attributes such as travel time and cost. Public transport users are more likely to switch to eHUBS modes than car users. People who bike and walk have strong inertia, but the percentage choosing eHUBS modes doubles when the trip distance is longer (5 or 10 km).

Shared electric mobility hubs, or eHUBs, offer users access to a range of shared electric vehicles on demand. However, little is currently known about what the characteristics of potential users of this novel type of shared mobility are. This makes it difficult to plan the location of hubs and to provide facilities, which ultimately will determine their success. This paper therefore seeks to identify potential users based on an in-depth case study of a representative sample of the Municipality of Amsterdam population. The analysis employed an attitudinal market segmentation approach supported by the Theory of Diffusion of Innovations (DOI). The analysis identified four specific target groups, each with a different propensity to use eHUBs in the future. In our sample, two groups expressed an interest in using eHUBs. The first group consists of highly educated and non-car owning young adults (19% of the sample), whereas the second group shows a higher level of car ownership and a greater number of households with children (69% of the sample). The two remaining groups comprise the majority of laggards (52%), despite only representing 12% of the sample. They tend to be older, less educated, and live in a household without children. The four groups are further distinguished based on their current shared mobility use, traveler identity, and perceived barriers to using shared electric vehicles. Finally, general recommendations to practitioners and policymakers to increase the uptake of shared mobility, including paying attention to the availability, cost, and convenience of shared mobility options, are provided.

Shared e-mobility is a category of emerging mobility services that includes electric carsharing, e-bike sharing, and e-scooter sharing. These services are expected to reduce the negative externalities of road transport in cities, which is currently dominated by fossil-fuel-powered private car trips. In order to better inform the development and promotion of these services and indicate directions for further research, we conducted a comprehensive review of existing literature on the three shared e-mobility modes focusing on their usage pattern, demand estimation, and potential impacts. We found that despite the different vehicle capabilities, all three shared e-mobility services are mainly used for short trips, and their current users are mostly male, middle-aged people with relatively high income and education. The demand of all shared e-mobility modes share many common predictors: they appeal to people with similar socio-demographic characteristics and generate higher demand in locations with better transport connectivity and more points of interest. Shared e-mobility services can potentially lead to positive impacts on transportation and the environment, such as reducing car use, car ownership, and greenhouse gas emissions. However, the magnitude of these benefits depends on the specific operational conditions of the services such as the fuel type and lifetime of shared vehicles. The impact of each shared e-mobility mode is also expected to be affected by other coexisting shared e-mobility modes due to both complementarity and competition. Future directions should include studying the competition between and integration of multiple shared e-mobility modes.

Road transport heavily relies on fossil fuels and contributes to a series of problems including pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and fuel dependence. Replacing fossil-fuel powered vehicles with electric vehicles (EV) on a large scale is regarded as a potential or even necessary solution to alleviate these problems. Therefore, many national governments have announced a ban on sales of new fossil fuel cars by 2030/40. In order to achieve this goal, they also implemented incentive policies for EV adoption. However, the market share of EVs remains low in the vast majority of countries despite the governmental promotion. In order to achieve the goal of phasing out fossil fuel powered cars, it is of utmost importance to understand consumer preferences for EV and the main barriers for mass adoption, which can facilitate the development of more effective policy instruments. The most prominent barriers towards EV adoption are mainly due to the limitations of state-of-the-art battery technology (such as expensive batteries, limited driving range, rather long charging times and uncertainties surrounding battery lifetime and residual value) and the lagging behind of charging infrastructure development. Since most of these barriers can be attributed to the battery technology, a fundamental way to overcome these barriers in the long run is to finance the R&D of battery technology which eventually increases the competence of EV. However, an often-ignored notion is that the value of the technology itself is not inherent nor fixed, and we can already attempt to boost the value of the technology and overcome some of the barriers in the meantime.

Successful market penetration of electric vehicles may not only rely on the characteristics of the technology but also on the business models available on the market. This study aims to assess and quantify consumer preferences for business models in the context of Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption. In particular, we explore the impact of attitudes on preferences and choices regarding business models. We examine three business models in the present study: battery leasing, vehicle leasing and mobility guarantee. We design a stated choice experiment to disentangle the effect of business models from other factors and estimate a hybrid choice model. According to the results, the preferences for business models depend on the vehicle type: for battery electric vehicle (BEV), vehicle leasing is the most preferred option and battery leasing is the least preferred, while for conventional cars (CV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) the traditional business model of full purchase remains more popular. The attitudes of pro-convenience, pro-ownership and pro-EV leasing are all significantly associated with the choice of business models. As for mobility guarantee, we do not find any significant effect on utility. Finally, we discuss the implications for business strategy and government policy derived from our results.

This paper aims to explore the potential of carsharing in replacing private car trips and reducing car ownership and how this is affected by its attributes. To that affect, a stated choice experiment is conducted and the data are analyzed by latent class models in order to incorporate preference heterogeneity. The results show that around 40% of car drivers indicated that they are willing to replace some of their private car trips by carsharing, and 20% indicated that they may forego a planned purchase or shed a current car if carsharing becomes available near to them. The results further suggest that people vary significantly with respect to these two stated intentions, and that a higher intention of trip replacement does not necessarily correspond to higher intention of reducing car ownership. Our results also imply that changing the system attributes does not have a substantial impact on people’s intention, which suggests that the decision to use carsharing are mainly determined by other factors. Furthermore, deploying electric vehicles in carsharing fleet is preferred to fossil-fuel cars by some segments of the population, while it has no negative impact for other segments.

It is often argued that successful market penetration of electric vehicles may not only rely on the characteristics of the technology but also on business models. However, empirical evidence for this is largely lacking. This study intends to fill this gap by assessing the impact of business models, in particular battery and vehicle leasing, on Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption. By conducting a stated choice experiment, we examine to what extent car drivers switch their choices between conventional and electric vehicles after business models become available. The results based on the discrete choice model suggest that leasing does not increase EV adoption at the aggregate level. However, a latent transition analysis shows that different groups with internally homogeneous preferences react differently to leasing options at the disaggregate level. The results indicate that 13% of the car drivers changed their preferences, albeit in different ways. Transition probabilities are particularly related to attitudes towards leasing and knowledge of EV. The results show that leasing is useful in facilitating EV adoption for certain groups, which can be identified by their individual characteristics. In addition to these substantial insights, this paper makes a contribution to the literature by demonstrating the potential of latent transition analysis in uncovering heterogeneity in behavioral changes induced by policy or strategy interventions, especially when changes can occur in opposite directions.

Widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) may contribute to the alleviation of problems such as environmental pollution, global warming and oil dependency. However, the current market penetration of EV is relatively low in spite of many governments implementing strong promotion policies. This paper presents a comprehensive review of studies on consumer preferences for EV, aiming to better inform policy-makers and give direction to further research. First, we compare the economic and psychological approach towards this topic, followed by a conceptual framework of EV preferences which is then implemented to organise our review. We also briefly review the modelling techniques applied in the selected studies. Estimates of consumer preferences for financial, technical, infrastructure and policy attributes are then reviewed. A categorisation of influential factors for consumer preferences into groups such as socio-economic variables, psychological factors, mobility condition, social influence, etc. is then made and their effects are elaborated. Finally, we discuss a research agenda to improve EV consumer preference studies and give recommendations for further research. Abbreviations: AFV: alternative fuel vehicle; BEV: battery electric vehicle; CVs: conventional vehicles; EVs: electric vehicles; FCV: fuel cell vehicle; HCM: hybrid choice model; HEV: hybrid electric vehicle (non plug-in); HOV: high occupancy vehicle; MNL: MultiNomial logit; MXL: MiXed logit model; PHEV: plug-in hybrid electric vehicle; RP: revealed preference; SP: stated preference.

Successful market penetration of electric vehicles may not only rely on the characteristics of the technology but also on the business models available on the market. This has been largely ignored in previous studies. The aim of this study therefore is to assess and quantify the impact of innovative business models on Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption. In particular, the authors look at leasing and mobility guarantee. The authors designed a stated choice experiment to disentangle the effect of business models from other factors and estimated several choice models. According to the results, leasing is the most preferred option for people who choose EV, while adopters of conventional cars (CV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) are more likely to stick with buying. Attitudes towards leasing are significantly associated with the choice of business models. However, most of those who choose EV leasing were going to adopt EV even when leasing was not possible. Furthermore, leasing doesn’t have a significant effect in attracting people who initially chose CV and PHEV. Mobility guarantee is found to have a significant albeit small positive effect on electric vehicle utility. The results suggest that the business models the authors tested may not be sufficient to compensate for the perceived weaknesses of EV and make a substantial difference in promoting EV sales. In order to further explore the potential of business models, more studies are needed to identify a more effective pricing scheme and other more promising business models.