Scooter sensors in Tallinn rate streets for wheelchair users

A pilot in Tallinn, Estonia, used sensors on shared e-scooters to rate how passable streets are for wheelchair users, Cities Today reported. The Wheels4Wheels project by Bolt generated 40.5 million data points and more than 66,000 surface ratings across eight districts.

The scooters already carry accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS receivers and cameras for safety and maintenance. The method turns their readings into a score for each street segment on a five-point scale, from smooth to terrain a wheelchair user cannot cross. The results go to OpenStreetMap, where cities and navigation services can use them for accessible route planning.

Checked against volunteers

Volunteers surveyed the same streets by hand. A single scooter journey matched the verified data about eight times in ten, rising to about nine in ten when several scooters used the same street. Ratings weigh GPS accuracy, speed, coverage and consistency, so streets with few rides have less reliable scores.

"Wheels4Wheels can give cities a more detailed picture of street conditions and help identify areas where poor surfaces may warrant closer inspection or improvement," said Ardo Reinsalu of Bolt. The method measures surfaces, not temporary obstacles, and no other cities have yet been announced.

Open by design

The methodology is open source, so authorities and other operators can adapt it. That matters: surveying every pavement by hand is expensive, and data from vehicles that already cover the city can tell inspectors where to look first. Publishing it to an open map means the benefit reaches residents directly, not just the city's maintenance team.