How E-Scooters Are Discussed in Almaty: Evidence from Social Media

Findings, 2026

Full text Open access: Gold Metadata (CSL-JSON)
DOI 10.32866/001c.160920
Data confidence 70 medium
How this score is calculated

It is built from checkable properties of the record itself: whether the article has a DOI, how many independent sources confirmed its data, whether the required fields are filled in, and how recent the latest confirmation is. Disagreement between sources and a missing identifier lower it. A value of 80 or above means the record was published without further checking; 60 to 79 means it is published at reduced confidence, with a manual check advisable. A record verified by an editor by hand is never pushed below 90 by a recalculation. This scores our data about the article, not the article itself.

Abstract

This study examines how e-scooters are discussed in Almaty using 1,491 Facebook and Instagram posts collected between 2020 and 2025. The analysis combines thematic clustering, framing analysis, and sentiment classification to identify patterns in online discussion. Public discourse is mainly shaped by regulation and enforcement, and safety-related incidents attract stronger emotional reactions. Everyday complaints and mobility integration receive less attention, and most posts remain neutral in tone. The study highlights the value of social media for examining public perceptions of micromobility in a non-Western urban context.