FACT SHEET

MAKING MICROMOBILITY 

SMARTER AND SAFER

August 2022

Driven by the rise of shared rentals 

deployed by municipalities and 

private companies, micromobility 

vehicles have become a popular 

transportation alternative for 

individuals in cities and, increasingly, 

in smaller towns and suburbs 

throughout the Nation.

The growth of micromobility vehicles (transportation devices such as pedal‐driven 

and electric‐assist bicycles as well as electric‐assist scooters) in the United States over 

the past decade has been staggering. From 2010 to 2019, shared micromobility 

vehicle ridership ballooned from 321,000 trips annually in 2010 to 136 million annually 

in 2019.1

 In 2020, travelers in the United States took an estimated 67.9 million trips on 

shared micromobility vehicles.2

STATE OF MICROMOBILITY AND SAFETY

FHWA defines micromobility vehicles as “any 

small, low speed, human or electric‐powered 

transportation device, including bicycles, 

scooters, electric‐assist bicycles (e‐bikes), 

electric‐assist scooters (e‐scooters), and other 

small, lightweight, wheeled conveyances.”3 

Since their introduction in 2007, shared 

micromobility vehicles have rapidly proliferated 

throughout the United States. Between 2018 

and 2019 alone, micromobility vehicle ridership 

increased 60 percent.1

The types of micromobility vehicles available for use have also increased. As a result, 

policymakers and researchers have grappled with the implications of this growing 

mode of transit. In particular, public safety for micromobility vehicle users as well as 

the pedestrians and drivers they encounter has become an increasing concern. The 

Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Exploratory Advanced Research Program 

(EAR) Program and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) are funding a 3‐yr 

study titled “Making Micromobility Smarter and Safer” to address this issue. This 

project, run by a Rutgers University research team, seeks to gather better data and 

create technological tools that help improve safety for pedestrians and micromobility 

vehicle users.

© 2021 Rutgers University. A person uses an e-scooter to cross the street. 
FACT SHEET

MAKING MICROMOBILITY 

SMARTER AND SAFER

August 2022 

EXPLORATORY ADVANCED RESEARCH

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The types of shared micromobility vehicles 

available for use have diversified as well. 

Beginning with docked (required to be returned 

to a station) pedal‐driven bicycles in 2007, 

options now available in cities throughout the 

Nation include dockless bicycles, e‐bikes, and 

e‐scooters.3 Micromobility vehicles have also 

evolved to be more accessible. In Portland, OR, 

two micromobility vehicle providers now offer 

e‐scooters that have a seat.4 In 2018, a Detroit 

bikeshare program started offering 13 different 

types of cycles (including recumbent, upright 

cargo, hand, and tandem tricycles).4

The rapid proliferation and diversification of 

micromobility vehicles in the past decade has 

also created significant public concern about 

rider safety. In particular, the dramatic rise of 

e‐scooter deployment and use after 2018 has 

been the subject of significant media coverage.4

Between 2014 and 2018, e‐scooter‐related 

injuries jumped 226 percent, and hospital 

admissions jumped 365 percent.4 A study found 

that rates of head trauma for injured e‐scooter 

riders was double that of bicyclists.4 E‐scooters 

have also posed a risk to pedestrians, leading 

some cities to ban them from sidewalks.4

FHWA’S ROLE IN MICROMOBILIITY

As the number of micromobility vehicle 

users has grown, FHWA’s Office of Planning, 

Environment, and Realty (HEP) has worked to 

advance related research and practice. In late 

2018, HEP conducted interviews with 25 staff 

across 11 FHWA offices to establish FHWA’s 

definition of micromobility; consider the role of 

Federal, State, and local entities in this emerging 

area; and develop questions for future research.5 

In early 2020, HEP also interviewed 27 staff 

from 9 Federal agencies to share micromobility 

research activities and help identify potential 

research gaps.5 HEP currently leads an internal 

working group that coordinates research efforts 

on micromobility across the U.S. Department 

of Transportation (USDOT). As a result of these 

coordination efforts, HEP developed:

• A Micromobility fact sheet. 

• Two handouts about USDOT and 

FHWA activities (which will likely be updated 

in the near future).5

HEP has also collaborated with partners 

and stakeholders to promote and support 

micromobility research. HEP worked with 

the Pedestrian Bicycle Information Center to 

develop two micromobility information briefs 

and organize micromobility‐related outreach 

efforts, such as a half‐day workshop at the 

2019 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) 

Annual Meeting in Austin, TX.4,6 In 2021, in 

collaboration with ITE and FHWA’s Office of 

Freight Management and Operations, HEP 

published the Curbside Inventory Report,

which explores how communities can better 

assess, prioritize, and optimize curb space 

considerations for accessibility, pedestrian and 

delivery access, transit priority, electric and 

autonomous vehicles, and shared mobility and 

micromobility.7 HEP also coordinates with the 

FHWA EAR Program to support micromobility 

and other transportation‐related research 

awarded under the NSF Smart and Connected 

© 2021 Rutgers University. E-scooters being used alongside car traffic.
FACT SHEET

MAKING MICROMOBILITY 

SMARTER AND SAFER

August 2022 

EXPLORATORY ADVANCED RESEARCH

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Communities Program.8 Recently, HEP released 

a Shared Micromobility and Equity Primer

publication, illustrating how micromobility 

vehicles can be used to serve transportation 

needs in disadvantaged communities.9

OVERVIEW OF EAR PROGRAM STUDY

A team of Rutgers University researchers is 

developing tools that illustrate how growing 

micromobility options on the road impact the 

safety of micromobility users and pedestrians. 

This project focuses on “near misses” between 

motor vehicles, pedestrians, e‐scooters, e‐bikes, 

and bicycles. The objectives of this project are 

as follows:

• Use new methods to gather better data 

on what determines pedestrian and 

micromobility risk.

• Create tools that deliver more integrated 

solutions in collaboration with a private 

micromobility vehicle provider. 

• Test the tools with real users in New Jersey 

communities, starting with Asbury Park, NJ. 

These tools will explicitly integrate both social 

and technology solutions to improve safety. 

Project tasks include:

• Creating an enhanced near‐miss detection 

capability using multiple visual sensors, 

advanced computer vision techniques, and 

virtual reality simulations.

• Performing behavioral experiments using 

both traditional tools (e.g, signage, temporary 

road reconfigurations) and smart‐city tools 

(e.g., sensor‐equipped and networked mobile 

actors and intersections).

• Conducting technological experiments 

integrated into a prototype mobile‐phone‐based 

app for pedestrians, e‐scooters, e‐bikes, and 

drivers.

• Convening a community deliberation process 

to inform the development of a local smart 

transportation plan.

Creating Near-Miss Detection Capability

Essential to this research project is clarifying and 

quantifying near misses, which the researchers 

define as “incidents that nearly result in close 

physical conflicts and may be an indicator of 

unsafe conditions.” By understanding these 

incidents, the research team can develop 

a mechanism to reduce fatalities and crashes. 

The team will first gather and analyze video 

data from intersection traffic cameras. Such 

data will be translated into three‐dimensional 

modeling for systematically measuring and 

labeling near‐miss incidents. From this data 

modeling baseline, the research team plans to 

create computer vision and machine‐learning 

algorithms that can predict near‐miss incidents.

© 2021 Rutgers University. E-scooters located outside of Penn Station 

in Newark, NJ.
FACT SHEET

MAKING MICROMOBILITY 

SMARTER AND SAFER

August 2022 

EXPLORATORY ADVANCED RESEARCH

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Convening a Community 

Deliberation Process

Working with community stakeholders, the 

research team will explore the best strategies 

for improving micromobility vehicle user 

and pedestrian safety. First, researchers will 

develop a virtual reality simulation model for 

partner communities using previous project 

data gathering and analysis work. The research 

team will then use the model to investigate 

local barriers to reducing pedestrian and 

micromobility user risk with community 

stakeholders and summarize lessons learned.

The research team will also work with host 

communities to update their local planning 

documents to better integrate micromobility 

safety strategies. Such local engagement will 

enrich understanding of the application of smart 

safety solutions being developed in this project 

and improve community decisionmaking 

related to pedestrian and micromobility user 

safety measures.

Performing Social Experiments

For this part of the project, the research team 

will evaluate the current infrastructure for 

signage, educational material, and events related 

to pedestrian and micromobility rider safety 

in the communities surrounding the Rutgers 

University camspus and other communities in 

New Jersey, such as Asbury Park and Newark. 

The researchers will also experiment with 

alternative low‐cost road design approaches 

to reduce hazardous road conditions for 

pedestrians and micromobility users, such as 

employing traffic cones and restriping traffic 

lines. These behavioral interventions will be 

evaluated with video imaging.

Conducting Technological Experiments

For these experiments, the research team seeks 

to apply its near‐miss detection technologies in 

realtime through the creation of a virtual reality 

environment that simulates connected traffic 

cameras as well as pedestrian, e‐scooter, and 

driver apps. These cameras and smartphone 

apps identify pedestrian, e‐scooter, and vehicle 

locations; predict their moving trajectories; 

determine potential collision danger; and provide 

warning alerts to pedestrians and drivers of 

e‐scooters and motor vehicles. The e‐scooter app 

can also potentially regulate e‐scooter speed.

© 2021 Rutgers University. The three-dimensional simulation 

system for detecting near-miss incidents being developed in the 

Rutgers University research project.

© 2021 Rutgers University. This map of New Jerseys shows 

locations where the Rutgers University research team may 

operate during its 3-yr project.
FACT SHEET

MAKING MICROMOBILITY 

SMARTER AND SAFER

August 2022 

EXPLORATORY ADVANCED RESEARCH

REFERENCES

1. National Association of City Transportation 

Officials. 2020. Shared Micromobility in the U.S.: 

2019. New York, NY: National Association of City 

Transportation Officials. https://nacto.org/sharedmicromobility-2019/, last accessed April 18, 2022.

2. North American Bikeshare and Scootershare 

Association. 2021. 2nd Annual Shared 

Micromobility State of the Industry Report.

Portland, ME: North American Bikeshare and 

Scootershare Association. https://share.hsforms.

com/19DY9nNTJQemTS57h3SD6CA55271, last 

accessed May 18, 2022.

3. Federal Highway Administration. 2020. 

Micromobility. Washington, DC: Federal Highway 

Administration. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/

fact_sheets/mm_fact_sheet.cfm, last accessed April 

18, 2022. 

4. Governors Highway Safety Association. 2020. 

Understanding and Tackling Micromobility: 

Transportation’s New Disruptor. Washington, DC: 

Governors Highway Safety Association. https://

www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/GHSA_

MicromobilityReport_Aug31Update.pdf, last accessed 

April 18, 2022. 

5. Price, J., D. Blackshear, W. Blount, Jr., and L. Sandt. 

2021. Micromobility: A Travel Mode Innovation. Report 

No. FHWA-HRT-21-003. Washington, DC: Federal 

Highway Administration. https://highways.dot.gov/

public-roads/spring-2021/micromobility-travel-modeinnovation, last accessed April 18, 2022.

6. Federal Highway Administration. 2020. Federal 

Highway Administration Micromobility Activities. 

Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. 

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/resources/mm_

fhwa_activities.pdf, last accessed April 18, 2022.

7. Abel, S., M. Ballard, S. Davis, M. Mitman, K. Stangl, 

and D. Wasserman. 2021. Curbside Inventory Report. 

Report No. FHWA-HEP-21-028. Washington, DC: 

Federal Highway Administration. https://www.fhwa.

dot.gov/livability/fact_sheets/curbside_inventory_

report.pdf, last accessed April 29, 2022

8. U.S. National Science Foundation. N.d. “Smart and 

Connected Communities (S&CC)” (web page). https://

www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22529/nsf22529.htm, 

last access May 3, 2022.

9. Federal Highway Administration. 2022. Shared 

Micromobility and Equity Primer. Washington, DC: 

Federal Highway Administration. https://www.fhwa.

dot.gov/livability/resources/shared_micromobility_

equity_primer.pdf.

5

Recommended citation: 

Federal Highway Administration, 

Making Micromobility Smarter and Safer

(Washington, DC: 2022) 

https://doi.org/10.21949/1521912.

FHWA- HRT-22-083 

HRTM-20/06-22(WEB)E

LEARN MORE

To learn more about the EAR Program, visit 

https://highways.dot.gov/research/exploratoryadvanced-research. The website features 

information on research solicitations, updates on 

ongoing research, links to published materials, 

summaries of past EAR Program events, and 

details on upcoming events. 

CONTACT

For more information about this EAR Program 

project, please contact Danielle Blackshear at 

202–366–064, (email: danielle.blackshear@dot.gov) 

in the FHWA Office of Human Environment.

What Is the EAR Program?

The EAR Program supports longer term, 

higher risk research with the potential for 

transformative improvements to the U.S. 

transportation system. The EAR Program 

seeks to leverage promising expertise 

and advances in science and engineering 

to create breakthrough solutions to 

highway transportation issues.