Free floating electric scooters is a relatively new phenomena in many cities across the world and despite the Covid-19-pandemic, electric scooters are growing in popularity. There are however mixed opinions on whether electric scooters are environmentally friendly or not and if they are an option for municipalities to utilize in their planning towards more sustainable cities or not. Laws are also lacking for regulating this new means of transport. This study aims to examine how municipalities can plan for electric scooters in their traffic planning as well as examining if electric scooters work according to the municipalities’ visions for their future traffic planning. This study also aims to map out what Swedish cities have electric scooters today and examine what characteristics these cities have. The study has been conducted through interviews with two Swedish municipalities, one Norwegian municipality and one provider of free floating electric scooters. A literature review of several municipalities’ planning and strategy documents has been carried out as well. Findings show that free floating electric scooters exist in the most populous municipalities in Sweden. The municipalities have a high share of students and young people in the ages 18-35, which is the age group that tend to use electric scooters the most. The municipalities have a lower amount of days with snow-cover than the national average. Findings also show that municipalities are positive towards free floating electric scooters and think that they fit in with the overall visions for the municipalities’ planning.

In the past few years, the number of e-scooter rental services has rapidly increased in Sweden and across Europe. The increased usage of e-scooters has created problems, for example with accessibility on sidewalks and traffic safety. Consequently, the e-scooter industry has become a highly debated topic. This case study examined how Voi Technology communicate to profile themselves as legitimate, based on Max Weber’s principles of legitimation and Mark C. Suchman’s legitimation strategies. Three research questions were formulated to be able to fulfill the aim of the study: 1) Which of Suchman’s strategies to maintain legitimacy can be distinguished in Voi Technology’s external communication? 2) Which of Suchman’s strategies to repair legitimacy can be distinguished in Voi Technology’s external communication? 3) Which of Weber’s principles of legitimation can be distinguished in Voi Technology’s external communication? 30 posts from Voi’s social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin were analyzed with a qualitative content analysis and a semiotic analysis. The results showed that Voi are using the strategies “protect accomplishments” and “perceive change” to maintain legitimacy and the strategies “normalize” and “restructure” to repair legitimacy. The study did also find the legal-rational and charismatic principles of legitimation in Voi’s communication. The traditional principle of legitimation could not be found. Instead, Voi often presented themselves as non-traditional and innovative. This study contributes with more knowledge about how organizations can communicate to get legitimacy, when an organization or market is being questioned.

Innovation is a necessary element to transition towards a more sustainable transport paradigm. Advancements made in electrification and digitalisation are creating new forms of urban mobility which have the potential to reduce the impact of transport and shift modal splits. However, these developments have also been accompanied by new actors, influences, and challenges related to the urban governance process. In order to realise the sustainability benefits which urban settings desire, and innovative forms of technology promise, there is a need for purposive steering – for which policy and regulation are key tools. These themes are explored through a case study of the policy process for e-scooters in Stockholm, Sweden from 2018 to 2022. Guided by theory on sustainability transitions and the role of urban mobility governance, this thesis investigates how new influences are affecting progress towards sustainable mobility objectives. Results are derived from a combination of qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, as well as document and media analysis. Analysis suggests that disconnect within formal governmental hierarchies is complicating the agency of the municipality. Despite having similar long-term sustainability goals, communication and cooperation to deal with current challenges are limiting the municipality. Informal networks have also become channels for new forms of influence, with international organisations and city-to city interaction shaping policy discourse. In addition, knowledge is warranting authority for technology advocates of new technologies in the urban mobility sphere. This study ultimately demonstrates how new influences are complicating the municipality’s ability to work towards its own sustainability objectives for urban mobility. There is a need for improved collaboration and transparency with new actors, as well as a revolution in how the municipal level responds to, and sets the guidelines for a future in which urban mobility is truly sustainable. / Innovation är en viktig process i omställningen mot ett mer hållbart transportsystem. Elektrifiering och digitalisering skapar nya former av urban mobilitet som besitter stor potential att minska negativa effekterna av transporter och förändra våra transportmönster. Men denna utveckling innebär även utmaningar för policy. Nya aktörer, inflytanden och utmaningar formar politiken, policy och reglering. För att förverkliga de aspekter av hållbarhet som urbana miljöer eftersträvar, och innovativ teknik utlovar, behövs tydlig och målorienterad styrning. Policy och reglering är nyckelverktyg för denna styrning. Dessa teman utforskas genom en fallstudie av policyprocessen för elsparkcyklar i Stockholm mellan 2018 och 2022. Med hjälp av teorier om “sustainability transitions” och “urban mobility governance” undersöker denna uppsats hur nya faktorer i transportsystemet påverkar utveckling mot mål om hållbar mobilitet. Resultaten härleds från en kombination av kvalitativa metoder, bestående av semistrukturerade intervjuer, samt dokument- och medieanalys. Analysen tyder på att friktioner och konflikterande visioner inom formella hierarkier inom offentlig verksamhet komplicerar kommunens auktoritet och autonomi. Trots att många offentliga aktörer delar liknande långsiktiga hållbarhetsmål gör brister i kommunikation och samarbete det svårt för kommunen att hantera aktuella utmaningar. Informella nätverk har också blivit kanaler för nya former av inflytande, med internationella organisationer och samarbeten städer emellan som formar politisk diskurs. Utöver detta, skapar även privata aktörers kommersiella intressen och teknologiska expertis en viss auktoritet i bestämmandet över nya produkter och tjänster i det urbana transportsystemet. Denna studie visar slutligen hur nya influenser försvårar kommunens förmåga att arbeta mot sina egna hållbarhetsmål inom mobilitet. Förbättrad samverkan och transparens med nya aktörer, samt en revolution i hur kommunen sätter ramarna för framtida teknik är nödvändiga delar för att uppnå verklig hållbar mobilitet.