Fire Video Interventions Reshape Electric Bicycle User Needs – A Three-Phase Identification, Prioritisation and Guidance Framework

The global proliferation of electric bicycles (EBs) marks a significant advancement in sustainable urban transportation. However, two critical barriers impede EB’s full societal integration: insufficient analysis of user needs and fire safety risks exacerbated by inadequate risk awareness. To address the above challenges, this study proposes a three-phase approach integrating user needs identification, quantitative prioritisation and risk-aware guidance to promote safer EB design practices. We establish an integrated analytical framework combining quality function deployment (QFD) with the fuzzy best-worst method (F-BWM) to achieve the first two phases-identification and quantitative prioritisation of user needs. For the third phase, we design and implement an innovative video-based guidance framework as an effective risk communication strategy, specifically targeting the enhancement of fire safety considerations during EB selection processes. Findings indicate: (1) six primary EB user needs are identified: battery and charging, handling performance, safety and security, comfort and convenience, technology and connectivity, and appearance design. (2) “Battery and charging” and “safety and security” emerge as the highest-priority EB user needs. (3) The video intervention yielded a measurable 27.73% increase in the perceived importance of fire-related features. This study provides theoretical foundations for user-centred EB design approaches.