Involving users and user roles in the transition to sustainable mobility systems: The case of light electric vehicle sharing in Sweden

• Published in: Transportation research. Part D, Transport and environment Transport and environment, 2019-06, Vol.71, p.207-221
• Main Authors: Sopjani, Liridona, Stier, Jenny Janhager, Ritzén, Sofia, Hesselgren, Mia, Georén, Peter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ambassadors; Shared mobility services; Sustainable innovation; User involvement; User roles
• ISSN: 1361-9209; 1369-8478; 1873-5517; 1879-2340
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2018.12.011

•Sustainable mobility systems demand a more involved user in the process of innovation.•User roles and involvement lead to contrasting outcomes for sustainable innovation.•A spectrum of four user roles is identified with defined characteristics.•Vigilant users and ambassadors are identified as two contrasting roles.•A convergent activation strategy is suggested for involving users and nonusers. Low-carbon mobility alternatives, such as shared services integrating light electric vehicles, support transitions to sustainable transport systems. However, new products and services are not enough, as changes must also incorporate the practices of travelling, infrastructure, and mobility cultures in which users of mobility solutions are core stakeholders. This paper argues that user involvement is necessary in sustainable innovation processes but that the expected diversity of user roles and their involvement can also lead to contrasting outcomes for sustainable innovation transitions. Guided by theory in user involvement, this study investigated users and nonusers of light electric vehicles in a sharing mobility service system set up as living lab in two large workplaces in Sweden. Fifty-one interviews with employees at the workplaces were conducted during the implementation process and analysed combined with a questionnaire and data from system tracking through sensor technology. The paper finds that both users and non-users are co-creators in building momentum for sustainable mobility alternatives and provides a spectrum of user roles with defined characteristics. Four roles are distinguished within this spectrum: vigilant users, passive collaborators, active decision makers and ambassadors. We suggest that a convergent activation strategy is deployed for involving a full spectrum of users in order to capture their insights in ways that positively affect transition. Such a strategy addresses users and non-users as part of decision-making concerning alternatives and cultivates a culture of user collaboration, while also enabling a plurality of contributions in order to challenge existing regimes and established practices among individuals.