POCKET CLASS: Commuting, but make it fun
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If you get around by bus, bike or car (Ferraris excluded), chances are, you wouldn’t describe your morning commute as “fun.”
Listening to your favourite podcast on the bus might be pleasurable or enjoyable, but fun is something entirely different, says School of Business associate faculty member Karly Nygaard-Petersen.
Her research explores what motivates people to use e-scooters, helping communities and operators more effectively integrate shared micromobility into local transportation systems.
She says what she’s learned is that e-scooter riders have something in common: fun.
“We bandy about having fun, but how often do we ever get to reflect and say, ‘why was that fun?’” says the RRU double alum, who has both a Master of Business Administration in Executive Management and a Doctor of Business Administration to her name. Today, she works in marketing on the shared mobility portfolio at the BC Automobile Association.
“I’m really interested in why people speak differently about e-scooters than other modes,” she says.
She adds that in today’s fast-moving world, moments of joy, and fun in particular, can be fleeting. Taking the time to understand how those moments happen, she says, helps us create more of them in our own lives and better understand ourselves in the process.
In her RRU Pocket Class, she says it comes down to the freedom of the ride, the wind in your hair and the nostalgia of feeling like you’re six again.
Read more about what Karly Nygaard-Petersen learned about curating serious fun in the transportation business and why she received a a 2025 Kelly Outstanding New Teacher Award.
Learn more about the Master of Business Administration in Executive Management and the Doctor of Business Administration programs.