Compliance to eco-riding recommendations on an E-scooter: Effects on energy consumption and user acceptance

Eco-riding assistance systems on electrified powered two-wheelers aim at decreasing energy consumption. However, the efficiency of such systems depends on the riders’ behavior. Therefore, the present paper evaluates an eco-riding assistance system giving recommendations for regenerative braking, coasting, and sailing regarding compliance, transfer effects, energy consumption, and acceptance. N = 31 participants had to complete a test course including highway, rural roads, and urban riding in a purpose-built E-scooter simulator. A between-subjects study design with three groups was chosen to determine possible effects: (1) Control condition without any assistance; (2) Basic condition with recommendations triggered by vehicle- or map-based data; (3) Comprehensive condition with recommendations based on vehicle-, map-, and Vehicle-to-everything (V2X)-based data. Due to the multitude of sensors, the comprehensive condition received more recommendations than the basic condition. The riders of the basic and comprehensive condition received no recommendations on the last section of the test course to assess possible transfer effects. Riders with assistance ride slower and sail more often than the control group. This is valid also for sections without riding recommendations. Overall, the riders with assistance have a lower energy consumption on sections with coasting recommendations (Basic condition: 18.2 % less energy consumption; Comprehensive condition: 12.8 %) and on sections without any eco-riding assistance (Basic condition: 9.5 %; Comprehensive condition: 8.2 %). The frequency of recommendations has no effect on the efficiency as the basic condition and the comprehensive condition show comparable riding behavior and do not differ regarding energy consumption. Finally, all the participants rate all three recommendation types as positive. Altogether, the results endorse the benefit of eco-riding assistance for electrified powered two-wheelers concerning energy efficiency and provide indications for the design of such systems.