E-Scooters Found In Chicago River Weeks Before Pilot Program To Wrap Up
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The City of Chicago is just weeks away from wrapping up the E-scooter pilot program. Since the launch there have been some bumps along the way with riders getting hurt and scooters and up in odd places, including, most recently, the Chicago River.
A man was walking along Diversey when he stopped at the Chicago River. He was looking out on the water when something caught his eye. He looked down and saw several scooters in the water.
The questions now are how long have they been there and who tossed them in?
Sergio Rivera took photos Wednesday showing five scooters in the north branch of the river near Diversey and Logan. He said he didn't file a complaint, so CBS 2 brought it to the attention of the city.
A spokesperson for the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protections said it's the responsibility of the vendors, if possible, to remove the scooters from the water within 24 hours of being notified of the incident. If not, the city will remove the scooters, but the vendor will have to pay for the work and penalties.
The city launched the E-scooter pilot program in June, giving permits to 10 vendors to do a test run of the scooters in certain pockets of the city.
Since the launch scooters have been ridden nearly 675,000 times, but the city had to issue 39 citations against nine vendors from failure to respond to complaints with two hours to failure to submit accurate and complete data.
CBS 2 learned each citations comes with a maximum fine of $1,000, and Lyft is the only company that hasn't received a citation yet.
But what's next when the pilot program is over?
A spokesperson for BACP said there's no timetable, and the city is planning a comprehensive evaluation considering everything from injury reports to community feedback.
The city wants people to take the scooter pilot survey online.
You can submit feedback at scooterfeedback@cityofchicago.org or take survery at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/chicagoescooterpress.
As for the scooters in the water, the city reached out to each vendor with a scooter in the water and all said they will remove the scooters as soon as possible.
