Wild ride: One in five women ride e-scooters in Gush Dan region - survey

One in five women in the Gush Dan region ride e-scooters, according to a survey by scooter and bicycle share company Lime published on Tuesday.

Outside of the region, the survey found that only 22% of women ride either bicycles or e-scooters compared to the 88% who travel by car and the 66% who use public transportation. 

The survey conducted in collaboration with the research company Shiluv, aimed to look at the usage of e-scooters by Israeli women, the barriers preventing them from riding and potential solutions to encourage more women to use e-scooters.

The survey focused on young women aged 18-40 across the country, where 45% of women reported that they think using an e-scooter is a better travel option when public transportation is not available.

Road safety concerns

When asked about the obstacles that prevented more women from riding an e-scooter, the survey found that the main concerns were about road safety. More than half the participants stated they felt discouraged with the lack of dedicated bicycle lanes. Some expressed they felt inexperienced or lacked confidence when riding along traffic on the road. 

Despite these concerns, the survey found that more than half of the participants felt safer commuting at night with an e-scooter in comparison to alternative ways of commuting, such as a bus or a taxi.

Lime acknowledged there further steps are necessary to improve women's sense of safety and confidence while riding e-scooters at night. The company plans to hold women-only training workshops to address night-time riding safety next year.

Maxim Mozes, CEO of Lime Israel, said, "The survey reinforced our perception that women see the potential of e-scooters, but various concerns prevent them from fully realizing their full advantages, especially compared to men. The survey findings emphasize the importance of providing a safe riding environment, including protected bike lanes and proper street lighting – these will offer women the security they need to ride, especially after dark.

But the most important thing is ensuring they feel confident on the road, the main reason women hold back from using e-scooters is because they feel like don’t know how to use them.” 

He added, "An electric scooter can be a powerful tool to improve women's quality of life, so we are committed to providing women with training and educational tools that will contribute to them in terms of experience and self-confidence. We have done this in the past through women's riding academies, and we intend to continue expanding these initiatives for the foreseeable future so that women will feel protected and safe riding our vehicles in Israel."