E-Scooters In Portland Should be Back Later This Year, City Says

PORTLAND, OR – The e-scooters are coming. Rather, the e-scooters are coming back.

That's the word from the city's Bureau of Transportation, which included the recommendation in their new report on how last year's 120-day trial of letting the scooters on the streets of the city went.

PBOT says that the second pilot program will begin sometime this spring, a date has not yet been set, and will last one year – roughly eight months longer than the first trial.

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The report uses information from several sources, including data provided from the companies, to evaluate how and how often the scooters were used.

"I'm glad that PBOT took a proactive approach, requiring e-scooter companies to share their data and to serve East Portland," Transportation Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said. "While this technology has the potential to reduce congestion and pollution, I remain concerned about the unlawful use of e-scooters on sidewalks and in city parks."

Eudaly adds that more needs to be done to study the impact of the scooters on people with mobility challenges or vision impairment.

"We will continue to seek public input on how to best serve all Portlanders," she says.

The report says that over the 120-day first pilot program, the 2,043 scooters that were permitted by the city:

• Took 700,369 total trips, an average of 5,885 each day;
• Travelled a total of 801,887.84 miles; and
• Were taken for average trip of 1.15 miles overall and 1.6 miles in East Portland.

The report includes a survey that revealed that more one-third of scooter users said that they rode the scooter instead of driving or using an Uber or cab.

The report also addresses safety issues, which was a much discussed topic while the scooters were on the street.

According to Multnomah County Health Department determined that during the pilot program, there were 176 visits to emergency rooms and urgent care that were scooter-related.

That's about 5 percent of the 3,220 total traffic injuries during the same period and more than 50 percent less than the 429 visits to ERs and Urgent Care centers that were bicycle-related.

"We did not find a disproportionate risk that would discourage the city from allowing a scooter ride-share pilot, the Environmental Health Director at the county health department, Jae Douglas, said.

"After reviewing emergency department and urgent care clinic data, we found that e-scooters have risks similar to other parts of the transportation system."

The bureau plans to stage an online open house for people to express concerns, support, and ask questions.

PBOT says that people wishing to be notified of the online open house, should sign up for email updates at the Shared E-Scooter Pilot Program website.

PBOT has posted the entire report here.

Photo via PBOT.