Some electric scooters from Bird.co parked next to Belly Burger on Geary. Photos by Crissie P.
Some days, it seems like San Francisco is a test site for various modes of transportation. On-demand rides, electric mopeds, electric bikes, and driverless cars are just a few of the new ways to get around that have come to the city in recent years.
The newest player in the transportation game is electric scooters. Now, teens and savvy adults can quickly locate a waiting scooter nearby through a free smartphone app, and then rent it for a pittance to get to their next destination. When they arrive, they simply leave the scooter on the sidewalk for the next rider and log off via the app.
As of this week, a couple of companies have emerged as the forerunners in the city and their scooters are now showing up in the Richmond District. According to a recent article in Wired, Bird.co has 175 scooters zooming around the Bay Area, and Limebike, which also offers other electric rentals, has about 50 scooters on Bay Area streets.
Renting a scooter costs around $2 or less per ride, and when you’re done using it, you simply hop off, drop the kickstand, and log off via the app. The battery powered scooters recharge on their own; you can even see how much charge one has before you rent it (in case you’re planning a cross-city scoot).
Scooters came back into fashion in the early 2000’s for adults, who would fold them up and take them on their morning commute to get from the bus to the office, or from their parking lot to work. They kind of make you feel young again as you wistfully swing your leg and feel the breeze in your hair. And with an electric help on these modern scooters, you won’t even break a sweat getting to your destination.
Sidewalk Riding – Yes or No?
One of the intro screens with rider rules in the Bird app
Some merchants expressed concern over the scooters barreling down the sidewalks among pedestrians, dogs, strollers and seniors. Most electric scooters can top out at 15 mph so getting into a kerfuffle with one would not be pleasant. And like a Prius, you won’t necessarily hear them coming up behind you.
Cynthia Huie, the head of the Clement Street Merchants Association, reached out to Megan Colford, a LimeBike representative to ask about where riders were permitted to drive the scooters. Colford told her that people can ride wherever they want, including the sidewalks.
Well, that’s not really true.
It’s a grey area, and one that scooter advocates and opponents are at odds about. The old-fashioned scooters, which are not motorized and are akin to skateboards on a stick, are fairly common on sidewalks. But some worry that with new electric scooters, it’s just an accident waiting to happen if speeding scooters and people are sharing the same narrow sidewalk.
“If bikes or skateboards are not allowed on sidewalks its seems ridiculous that motorized scooters would be,” wrote one merchant.
State law settles the debate with a firm NO to the question of whether riding e-scooters on the sidewalk is allowed.
According to the DMV, “A motorized scooter may be operated on a bicycle path, trail or bikeway, but not on a sidewalk. On the roadway, it must be operated in the bicycle lane, if there is one. On roads without bicycle lanes, motorized scooters may operate where the speed limit is 25 mph or less, and shall be ridden as close to the right hand curb as possible, except to pass or turn left.”
In addition, the law requires a motorized scooter rider to be at least 16 years old, possess a valid drivers license or instruction permit, and wear a helmet.
We took a look at the Bird.co app and were pleased to see that their introductory messaging reinforces these laws.
“Ride in bike lanes when available. Do not ride on sidewalks” says one slide in the intro that an app user is required to swipe through.
By contrast, there was no introduction or instructions when we fired up the LimeBike app. It just took us right to a screen to find a scooter or electric bike nearby. We did not actually complete a rental in the app, so we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that instructions are shown before a rider starts their first rental.
A map in the LimeBike app showing where scooters are ready for rental.
Parking the Scooters
How and where to park electric scooters is another contentious issue. Like the new JUMP electric bikes popping up around the city, the electric scooters can be parked anywhere when the rider is done. We’ve seen them hugging a parking meter or side of a building, out of the way of pedestrians. But we’ve also seen them freestanding in the middle of a sidewalk, even ones tipped over obstructing the sidewalk path.
In the Bird app, they instruct riders to park where they “Don’t block public pathways” and “Park by bike racks when available”. The scooters don’t have any kind of lock or chain in them, so the rider does not have to “attach” them to anything when they’re parking.
As one merchant pointed out, businesses are charged by the city for using sidewalk space for things like tables and chairs out in front of their businesses.
“My larger concern is that the street is becoming a parking lot for alt-vehicles… Bikes, scooters, scoots, even Get Arounds… do any of them pay fees for the space they use as we do for our shops?” asked one merchant.
Where the scooters park can not only affect pedestrians on foot, but also people in wheelchairs, delivery carts etc.
The City is Scrambling to Keep Up
As usual, the SFMTA is lagging behind in their regulation of this latest form of transportation. According to the Wired article, “The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency sent sternly worded letters to the three companies operating in its city, warning it would “not tolerate any business model that results in obstruction of the public right of way or poses a safety hazard.”
It’s doubtful the companies are too concerned. E-scooter fever has hit San Francisco and you can’t go more than a few blocks in a shopping area without seeing riders in the roadway and on sidewalks. Helmet-less of course.
So if you are going to brave this new frontier, remember these rules:
– DON’T RIDE ON SIDEWALKS
– WEAR A HELMET
– PARK YOUR SCOOTER RESPONSIBLY SO IT DOESN’T BLOCK THE SIDEWALK
It’s only a matter of time until a new method of transportation is whizzing down out streets and sidewalks. Hoverboards, anyone? ;P
Sarah B.
In response to the anonymous merchant in the second to last section, Scoot at least does pay $325 annually for a permit for each of their vehicles. In general, they have worked with SFMTA to operate in a responsible and regulated manner.
https://www.sfmta.com/projects/shared-electric-moped-parking-permit-program
So will they have an autopilot scooter soon? That would be a thrill ride indeed.
It’s an interesting concept – small electric vehicles that can potentially be an alternative for someone to use instead of their car or Uber/Lyft cars, and therefore theoretically reduce auto traffic. However, for this to work, we have to expect that people will act responsibly and courteously. I don’t know what others’ experience has been, but in my opinion personal responsibility and courtesy are concepts that are in short supply in this town and elsewhere.
Yesterday a friend of mine was over and we were sitting in chairs talking and getting some sun at the opening of our garage door on a street corner on California street in the middle Richmond. It is a 4 way stop.
A young lady, 20 something, was riding the scooter East Bound on the sidewalk at a fairly high rate of speed. She did not stop and shot across the crosswalk. A car heading Southbound had to hit the brakes hard and stopped about 3 feet short of the cross walk. We watched the whole thing. If the car had not stopped she would be seriously injured or dead. No helmet.
Her mail companion was about 30 seconds behind her. He did stop then crossed via the sidewalk and then sped up to catch up with her.
They are not supposed to ride on the side walk. If one comes close to me or my wife when we are walking down the street, I will have to seriously consider placing them under citizens arrest for assault with a motorized vehicle.
It can be, and often is, a death sentence to an elderly person who is knocked down and breaks a hip. These people are dangerous and something needs to be done before they screw up someone’s life not after.