Future of e-scooters being discussed by Pittsburgh City Council
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The future of e-scooters is under discussion by Pittsburgh City Council.
It's been two years since the pilot program started, and now it's time to decide if it will continue or not.
The e-scooters have been all around Pittsburgh for the past couple of years. Some groups say they are not serving a purpose, while Spin says it sees a ton of people use them, helping people who do not have cars.
"We have to decide what kind of investments we want to be making," Pittsburghers for Public Transit Laura Chu Wiens said.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit hope they are gone. It feels like scooters don't serve those who have transit needs.
"We want them to start with the people with the least amount of access and figure out what it is that would actually serve them, and then measure the extent to which it's actually serving their needs," Wiens said.
One of the biggest issues Pittsburghers for Public Transit sees is with scooters being dumped on sidewalks. They can get in the way of people who have mobility or vision issues, like Gabriel McMorland, and this presents an unwanted challenge in walking down the street.
"They can't physically move the scooter out of the way. That's the end of the line for them. You might as well have put a pile of cinderblocks in the way," McMorland said.
Scooter use is high in Oakland and Downtown, and that is not equitable in the opinion of Pittsburghers for Public Transit.
"This is predominately serving students that have a plethora of options available to them for transportation," Wiens said.
Spin said while popular in those neighborhoods, scooters are being used all around the city and there are areas where it is a reduced rate. The city's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure says it's holding Spin accountable and the two are working to put AI on the devices to prevent them from ending up on sidewalks.
Councilwoman Barb Warwick proposed fines for Spin for any violations of illegally parking the scooters.
In the meantime, Spin gives out punishments that lead up to a suspension from the app. Spin said after a warning, 92 percent of users don't put the devices on sidewalks anymore. A concern from Councilman Anthony Coghill is the liability if someone gets injured.
"If someone goes in a pothole, it's not the scooter's fault, it's the city's fault," he said. "Spin's not going to say you're going to want to sue the city, it's not Spin's responsibility."
The city said they carry the same liability as any other vehicle that has a problem on a city street. Other concerns from the council included the sidewalk issues and state law, which still has to be figured out. So far through 1 million rides, there have only been 37 reports of injuries.
There was no decision from the council on Wednesday. The state has to determine if the scooters can be used beyond this pilot period.
