Overview
Suburban municipalities in the GTA (Ajax, Brampton, Mississauga) face several challenges such as congestion, sprawl and limitation in service delivery of public transit. As a result, for suburban commuters wanting to take public transit into the city, it is not always available, or it is inconvenient because there is still a need to drive to a transit hub to access the public transit systems, which may also contribute to local congestion. In response to growing congestion and pressure on existing transportation infrastructure, governments are shifting toward multi-modal solutions. Shared electric micro-mobility can help fill gaps in suburban transport networks, especially for short trips and transit connections.
Study Purpose
This report explores the challenges and barriers that users face when using or considering shared micromobility in the suburban context.
Methods
- Semi-structured interviews were conducted with residents living in the Town of Ajax, and Cities of Brampton and Mississauga over Zoom
- To recruit interview participants, we partnered with three municipalities, who helped promote the study through their active transportation or pilot program webpages, public library posters, social media posts, and/or e-newsletters.
- Interested individuals signed up via a Google Form, which collected basic information—including prior use of shared micro-mobility. Recruitment ran for about a month, though each municipality launched their materials at different times. In total, 460 people signed up, most of whom were young (89% aged 16–34), male (63%), and had previous experience with shared micro-mobility (72.2%).
Key Findings
- Safety: In a suburban community where the majority of streets have no active transportation infrastructure, participants held negative connotations to using shared micro-mobility when they had to share/compete for space with vehicles.
- Cost: Cost as a barrier to shared micro-mobility adoption
- Programming: Interview participants who had previously not used shared micro-mobility expressed that they felt they did not have enough information about the program. Participants who had used the shared vehicles felt that municipalities and private operators are not doing enough to promote the benefits of this new mode of transportation.
This report was produced by TransForm: The Transportation and Land Use Planning Research Laboratory at Toronto Metropolitan University.