Scooters, and their impact on noise annoyance: A case study in Amsterdam
Summary
Scooters in the Netherlands are becoming more popular, especially the light-mopeds in urbanized
areas. They are more affordable and mobile than cars, especially light-mopeds which may use bicycle
lanes. Due to the increase in scooters, a growing number of people is annoyed by the noise scooters
bring with them. Noise annoyance is related to health problems like tinnitus and stress. An Agent Based
Model was constructed to identify which areas in the city have the most scooters driving by and in what
way is this connected to noise annoyance.
The Agent Based Model was constructed by using an activity based model. Each individual has a set
of activities scheduled and uses the scooter to move from one destiny to the other. Most common
activities are work/school/shop/sport. Noise annoyance data is based on a questionnaire and is,
together with model output data, analyzed with a logistic regression method. It is found that an increase
in regular-mopeds is positively associated with serious noise annoyance. An increase of 100 regular-
mopeds per road has a 6% to 17% higher chance of people experiencing serious noise annoyance.
Light-mopeds have no association with noise annoyance. Due to a continuing increase in scooters over
the next years, it is to be assumed that serious noise annoyance will grow in urban areas, although the
most impact will be on people living next to highly dense traffic roads.