EFFECT OF SHARED ELECTRIC SCOOTERS ON URBAN GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: CASE OF RIGA.

Because of the electric propulsion, electric scooters could be a potential way how to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in urban transportation sector; however, recent research has cast doubt on that. This article focuses on the effect the electric scooter use has on CO₂ emissions by examining the electric scooter trip data obtained during 2021 scooter season in Riga city. As shared scooters routinely replace already existing modes of transportation, the article analyses the effect which this replacement has on net CO₂ emissions in the city. We argue that not all replacement modes will bring actual decrease of CO₂ emissions. The results indicate that most of the shared e-scooter trips in Riga fall into the 1-2 km distance category, where it replaces not just cars, but also public transportation, walking and cycling, and actually increases CO₂ emissions. The article examines the factors contributing to the CO₂ emissions and relative impact of each. The results demonstrate that the largest impact comes from the scooter and battery manufacturing, thus scooter lifetime has decisive impact on the overall net CO₂ emissions. In addition, this research found fundamental differences between expected scooter lifetime data claimed by shared scooter operators (5 years) and the average reallife data (156 days). It results in shared e-scooters creating additional 239.9 tonnes CO₂ in Riga, and minimum scooter lifetime should be at least 5 years, for shared scooters to become CO₂ neutral. This study aims to contribute to transportation literature by demonstrating net CO₂ emission calculation methodology as well as empirical evidence on e-scooter trips in North-Eastern Europe region and to help local authorities to make decisions on reaching environmental targets in transportation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]