This explains why I saw lots of posts on the ACBNY list a while back, about
scooters.
Miriam
E-Scooters Are Giving Cities Headaches-and Worse
Three little Birds: California cities in the Bay Area and SoCal regions were
among the early adopters of e-scooters. (Cam.wu / Wikimedia Commons)(CC
BY-SA 4.0)
Electric scooters, while a delight to some, are disrupting cities in
tech-centric California, as a battle rages over where they belong.
The rollout of the e-scooters-and the problems they have generated-caught
city officials by surprise. Those who consider them intrusive complain that
riders aren't being mindful of the problems they cause by stepping into
arenas where there are no existing regulations under the umbrella of
"innovation" and by thumbing their noses at attempts to rein them in.
The rent-by-the-minute scooters, emblazoned with user-friendly brand names
like Bird and Scoot, can reach speeds up to 15 mph. A prospective rider
simply takes any free-standing scooter and uses an app to unlock it. Unlike
rental bikes or car services, scooters don't require a docking or designated
parking station.
This is a key problem for nonusers, because in addition to blocking
sidewalks and doorways, scooters abandoned inappropriately are tripping
hazards. Worse, the number of accidents involving scooter riders and
pedestrians is on the rise.
A report from the UCLA School of Medicine reveals that about 250 people
were treated at two Southern California emergency rooms for scooter-related
injuries in the first six months after they hit the streets.
Injuries ranged from broken bones to head wounds, some requiring surgery and
some very serious. Some patients had internal injuries, and one person
suffered a compound fracture, in which a bone pierces the skin. Most riders
who were injured were not wearing helmets.
In San Francisco, doctors have treated similar injuries. Christopher
Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, says
his team has seen compound breaks, head injuries, patients requiring
ventilation and more than one case of wounds so serious they required
plastic surgery.
The UCLA study says its results most likely underestimate the number of
e-scooter injuries, because it reviewed only emergency room visits, not
those to urgent-care doctors or primary-care facilities.
Local laws on the use of e-scooters vary, with most cities prohibiting
riding on sidewalks. But opponents point out that such laws are difficult to
enforce. And although e-scooter companies generally recommend that riders be
at least 18 years old and wear helmets, users often disregard these
guidelines.
In Los Angeles and San Francisco, scooters seemed to drop from the sky
overnight in 2017, in the wake of smartphone app-based introductions of car-
and electric-bike sharing, and the use of large passenger buses serving
tech-sector employees.
The scooters quickly became very popular with users, but for opponents, they
are yet another example of the seemingly elitist and privileged technology
industry's unwanted invasion into their lives.
In Southern California, scooters have been tossed off buildings, set on
fire, smeared with feces and even dumped into the ocean. It is a clear
expression of anger over tech companies foisting their lifestyle onto others
as they jam public spaces, according to news reports. A social media group
on Instagram, which screens videos of scooters on fire, has collected over
29,000 followers.
The vigilante-style anti-scooter backlash is significant, and it can cost
the scooter companies thousands of dollars to repair and replace the
vehicles. In addition, city employees spend time and money hauling scooters
out of the ocean and removing those that have been vandalized and left on
the sidewalks.
Scooter companies promote their product as being for the ultimate good,
reducing the number of cars on the road and providing a green alternative to
the burning of fossil fuel.
But opponents question whether the benefit truly extends to all when the use
of public property-in this case, city streets and sidewalks-impinges on the
rights of those who don't use the scooters.
For many, the scooters are reminiscent of the "Google Bus" phenomenon, in
which luxury buses also suddenly began showing up on city streets and
freeways, carrying mostly white, mostly male, mostly young, highly paid tech
workers up and down the San Francisco Peninsula to Google, Apple, Facebook
and other tech companies. The buses utilized public bus stops without
permission to pick up and drop off their riders.
The ensuing battles were loud and forceful. Hundreds of demonstrators
blocked the buses from moving, and protesters confronted riders, challenging
this use of public streets. In 2015, San Francisco addressed these issues by
adopting a commuter shuttle program that reduced the number of private bus
stops, collected payments for the use of public bus stops, and allowed only
small buses on small streets, with larger buses allowed on major arteries
only.
The issues aren't resolved in San Francisco, however. Anti-tech activists
continue to fight, ironically blocking the buses with scooters to
demonstrate the frustration both types of vehicles impose on residents and
pedestrians. Recently, a group of activists donned white overalls and face
masks and blocked a bus in the Mission District, formerly a low-income and
artist community that is transforming into a trendy, tech-driven, high-rent
neighborhood.
"Rightly or wrongly, this is a fight against what is perceived to be a very
arrogant, Gilded Age-style approach toward public space by tech companies,"
says Jason Henderson, San Francisco State University professor and author of
"Street Fight: The Politics of Mobility in San Francisco."
Henderson says the city urgently needs better public solutions to its
transportation crisis.
"With Uber and Lyft and with private buses, cities like San Francisco have
fast-tracked extremely unequal and elitist transport. We need public
regional buses, accessible to all people, and . special bus lanes .
throughout the region. Not more private cars, not more private transit. We
absolutely need more bicycles for short-distance trips, but by punting
bike-share to the private sector, Bay Area political leaders have shown
cycling is not a true priority. It's just an afterthought. Were it a
priority, they'd fund a vast and equitable regional cycling system,"
Henderson says.
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who has introduced legislation to
create a regulatory permit program for scooters, agrees with Henderson's
take on tech culture. "Unfortunately, the tech companies are behaving like
arrogant and elitist adolescents who want what they want without government
interference. They don't want any oversight. They are continuing the same
approach with the debates over public space, inequality and tech-induced
gentrification."
Stanford University adjunct professor and Silicon Valley futurist Paul Saffo
says two specific problems are generating frustration among scooter
opponents: what he describes as "contention" and "free-rider."
A "free-rider" amounts to an uncompensated taking of public property by a
business, creating cost, safety and liability issues for local governments.
"Contention" arises when scooters are in motion and in conflict with
pedestrians and traffic.
There are no clear or easy solutions to these issues.
Saffo points out that forcing scooter companies to use racks would only take
up more sidewalk space, and would limit the practical use of scooters to
journeys that begin and end at an authorized rack. "This would diminish
scooter popularity and thus any benefit to reducing auto trips," he says.
"If driven on sidewalks, scooters are in contention with pedestrians, and if
driven in the street or bike lanes, they are in contention with cars and
bicycles," he says. "Because scooters are faster than pedestrians, they are
an annoyance-and a hazard-to walkers. And if the rider happens to be
thoughtless, they are annoying and obnoxious. And because scooters are
slower and more maneuverable than cars and bicycles, they are a hazard to
the riders and a complication in traffic."
Somehow, cities will have to figure out how to either give scooter riders
their own lanes-which is unlikely-or find a way to blend them into bike
lanes-which could be unsafe, according to Saffo.
He adds that bicyclists avoid the sidewalk-at least in theory-and in the
long run, he believes that bicycle use will displace scooter use because
cyclists already have some dedicated lanes and culturally agreed-upon
operational norms. But to allow for the rise in bicycle use, cities will
have to greatly increase the capacity of bicycle lanes and riders will have
to learn manners. Saffo says this is quite doable, pointing to cities like
Amsterdam or Copenhagen, which are famous for their cyclist cultures. "To
make this happen, American cities are in for years of safety and rudeness
issues as we collectively go down the bicycle learning curve."
In the long run, an increase in the number of transportation modes is a good
thing, and it appears inevitable. More transportation surprises are waiting
in the wings, from robotic microcars to electric-powered motorcycle
follow-ons that look like something from a "Transformers" movie. We can also
look forward to autonomous delivery bots in the street, on sidewalks and in
the air. These changes are going to require a period of wild urban
experimentation in which innovations will be proposed that cities and
citizens will accept, adapt or reject.
Meanwhile, the majority of companies operating in the electric scooter
market have similar business models. Dockless e-scooters or bikes are
distributed across a city-basically just dropped off on sidewalks in busy
areas. The bar to use the scooters is not high. Users download a mobile app
to find the nearest free scooter. E-scooter rates typically are a $1 flat
fee plus 15 cents per minute.
The San Francisco Bay Area Council, an organization that advises and
supports pro-business initiatives, sees the scooters as a green alternative
and a way to get people out of their cars. It is not as concerned about
sidewalk ridership, suggesting that it is incumbent on the scooter companies
to educate riders about appropriate use.
Rufus Jeffris, the council's vice president for communications, says it
supports sensible regulations and a focus on scooter safety. "Scooters are a
complex problem, and it's a challenge. It's the same problem with cars and
jaywalkers and bicycles. It's about education," he says.
Weighing in on the scooter safety issue is Walk San Francisco, an advocacy
organization that promotes safe sidewalks for pedestrians. When the scooters
first showed up, Walk San Francisco asked e-scooter operators to be "good
corporate citizens" and adhere to California law that prohibits motorized
vehicles on the sidewalks. "We called on these scooter companies to take
immediate actions to keep people safe and keep our sidewalks clear," says
Jodie Medeiros, the group's executive director. "We wanted people to know
that we support alternative forms of transportation, especially if it means
getting people out of cars. We came out strong, asking the companies to
provide the education needed to get their riders off the sidewalks and
inform their users where to park these motorized vehicles so they aren't
blocking the public right-of-way."
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency issued a statement emphasizing
that riding motorized scooters on sidewalks is illegal and unsafe for
pedestrians, especially seniors and people with disabilities.
But, as Medeiros points out, the agency does not have the capacity to
monitor scooters sufficiently. She believes the scooter companies must take
action, and there must be steep consequences for users if they behave
illegally.
For now, scooter enthusiasts continue to ride them illegally and without
helmets, daring the fates. With millions of dollars invested in green
transportation options, cities may choose to monitor the situation and
patrol the sidewalks in hopes that fewer scooters occupying the same space
as pedestrians will reduce the number of accidents.
However, just monitoring errant scooter riders won't address the anger the
scooters generate. Unlike the Google bus scenario, in which compromises were
developed, it's not clear if there is any kind of resolution scooter
companies can offer to keep the scooters off the sidewalks, away from
pedestrians and out of harm's way on the streets.
Geri Spieler
Geri Spieler's work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco
Chronicle and Forbes as well as the Huffington Post. Her background includes
her years as a research director for Gartner, a.
