UBRI worked with the School of Architecture and Planning and Shared Mobility, Inc. on research to support the adoption of electric micromobility (EMM), or electric bikes, scooters, and other personal mobility devices. These devices were legalized in NYS in April 2020 and are growing more popular locally and around the globe. Decision makers across NYS can benefit from a fuller understanding of EMM to safely and effectively integrate these devices into local transportation networks.

UBRI partnered with UB professors in Urban and Regional Planning, Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah and Daniel Hess, on this focused research project. The UB team led a spring 2021 studio course of Urban Planning graduate students to provide key research findings that promote local policy development around EMM and shared systems . The project involved a survey on perceptions of e-bikes and e-scooters and how EMM may change travel patterns. The research team used information gathered in the survey to develop methods to estimate the impacts that EMM could have on greenhouse gas emissions by reducing vehicle use. More broadly, the UB team’s work is meant to assist local decision makers and share system operators as they look to effectively integrate EMM into Upstate transportation networks. 

The project focuses on the regions of Buffalo, Rochester, and Albany, and is funded through a NYS Energy Research and Development Authority grant aimed at “Improving the Efficiency of New York’s Transportation System.”