How Lower Fares and Price Certainty Shape Shared Micromobility Use: The Effect of Flat Rates on Trip Frequency, Distance, and Speed

This paper describes the effects of a trial shared micromobility flat-rate pricing plan on users’ trip characteristics and daily usage. The analysis shows no clear effects on trip frequency or shared micromobility service first use. We found that those who used the new pricing plan tended to make longer-distance trips on average compared to other groups while no clear effects on trip travel speed were identified. We hypothesize that estimating the effectiveness of lower fares with upfront cost certainty for shared micromobility may require long-term experiments that allow users to adjust their broader travel behavior.