(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The effect shared electric scooters have on rideshares and bikeshares is the subject of research by a University of Illinois business administration professor.

“E-scooters are hailed as an environment-friendly innovation that is spurring retail activity, but their impact goes beyond what we know in the marketing literature,” said Unnati Narang (pictured). “Our study is the first to document the effects of e-scooters beyond retail and restaurants and show how they are reshaping shared mobility systems and even public safety in ways that policymakers need to take seriously, because they accrue economic and environmental costs.”

Narang says one facet she found is that someone could take an e-scooter to the store. then take their bags home in a rideshare. Narang says she’s looking at the services through a marketing lens – and how they affect retail.

The research, of Chicago in 2019, shows a 15.7 percent increase in rideshares but a 7.6 percent decline in bikeshares when e-scooters enter the market.