In our May 31 article, "Scooters – The Next Mobility Wave",
we talked about how electric scooters such as Lime, Bird, and Spin
have been taking cities by storm. We noted how they are many times
met with enthusiasm by the younger and more adventurous residents
who can easily find a scooter using an app on their phone, unlock
it by scanning a code on the handle, and off they go. On the other
hand, cities and municipalities, are cautious to embrace the new
technology (sound familiar?), frequently at the behest of the older
or less technologically adept residents. Often, these cities cite a
host of problems, including pedestrian injuries, people riding on
sidewalks, riders not wearing helmets and unused scooters blocking
walkways and critical access to curb space. Across the country,
cities' approaches to handing these new forms of transit have
been mixed, at best, and convoluted at worst.
