Pittsburgh final 12 months grew to become the primary metropolis in Pennsylvania to legalize low-speed electrical scooters and, as a part of a two-year pilot, Spin e-scooters grew to become accessible to hire and use on metropolis streets.
Now a bill shifting into the state Senate in Harrisburg would enable different choose Pennsylvania cities, together with Greensburg and New Kensington, to legalize and regulate e-scooters by way of comparable pilot applications.
Senate Bill 892 would enable some Pennsylvania cities to designate the place e-scooters could possibly be used. Currently, e-scooters are unlawful in Pennsylvania and never categorized within the state’s motorized vehicle code. In Pittsburgh, solely Spin e-scooters are allowed, thanks to the pilot program written into final 12 months’s funds.
“Low-speed scooters are part of the next generation of transportation,” mentioned state Sen. Laughlin, R-Erie, the prime sponsor of the bill.
“The scooters provide innovative, flexible and low-cost transportation to tens of millions of riders across the country. They help relieve traffic congestion, pollution and stress by reducing car trips and increasing access to public transit,” Laughlin added.
E-scooters would be rolled out in pilots that would embody industrial enterprises to hire out the scooters. Each scooter should weigh lower than 100 kilos with a floorboard for standing, journey lower than 15 mph and solely be rented to individuals 16 years of age and older.
Scooter riders would be granted the rights of cyclists and would be prohibited from driving on freeways, highways or streets the place the posted velocity restrict is 35 mph or greater. The pilots would final two years, and require metropolis governments to move native laws to implement them.
If handed, the cities eligible to approve e-scooter pilots would embody Scranton, the state’s solely designated Second Class A metropolis, and cities similar to Erie, Harrisburg, Allentown, Reading and Johnstown.
Related:
• Taking a spin on an e-scooter
Several choose cities in Southwestern Pennsylvania would be eligible together with Aliquippa, Arnold, Beaver Falls, Butler, Clairton, Duquesne, Greensburg, Jeanette, Latrobe, Lower Burrell, McKeesport, Monessen, Monongahela, New Castle, New Kensington, Uniontown and Washington. Philadelphia, the state’s solely first-class metropolis, was not included within the bill.
The bill handed out of the Senate Transportation Committee on a 12-2 vote. It now heads to consideration within the full Senate.
Ryan Deto is a Tribune-Review workers author. You can contact Ryan by e-mail at rdeto@triblive.com or through Twitter .