Electric scooters arrived to Seattle in 2020, and a survey gives blended outcomes on the pilot program.
SEATTLE — It’s been a yr and a half since electrical scooters hit Seattle. An analysis from the town’s Department of Transportation in early April discovered riders took greater than 1.4 million journeys from October 2020 by September 2021.
“I’ve seen the bikes and scooters a lot. I actually use them a good amount because cars are expensive, parking is annoying and I’m always going around to my friend’s places,” mentioned Diane Tian, an e-scooter rider.
Officials with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) mentioned the free-floating scooter-share pilot launched on Oct. 1, 2020. Since then, greater than 260,000 riders took over 1.4 million journeys. An SDOT survey of 5,000 riders revealed 70% of riders should not following one of many metropolis’s primary guidelines for the scooters.
“No, I don’t wear a helmet. I don’t have a helmet. I haven’t seen anybody wearing a helmet,” said Tian. “I don’t even know where to buy a helmet.”
Riders additionally aren’t presupposed to experience on sidewalks. But KING spoke with one rider who mentioned there are occasions when he has no selection.
“Whenever there’s not a bike lane, I have to do the sidewalk. Otherwise, I’m putting my life in danger,” said Rob Olson. “I was just up the road, and like I don’t want to mess with the road if its lanes aren’t painted right.”
SDOT officers mentioned the town is planning on making extra bike lanes and asking the scooter firms to re-apply for new permits that require them to have a plan to handle security concerns like making certain riders are carrying helmets. But SDOT officers additionally mentioned riders play a serious position in making this program secure.
“It’s really important that everyone do the right thing, when you’re riding a scooter, make good choices, be safe, park it in the correct way. That’s going to make this program successful so we can continue to have it,” mentioned Ethan Bergerson, a spokesperson with SDOT.
That similar survey from SDOT discovered 17 crashes recorded by police reviews in the course of the pilot program and 12% of riders self-reported numerous accidents by the SDOT on-line survey.