Ready Or Not, Here Come The Electric Scooters
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Electric scooters are coming to Sacramento. The cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento will announce a partnership with a major scooter-share company early next week.
Much like Jump Bikes, electric scooters will soon be available through a phone app where you can locate, ride, and drop off the scooters for a small fee.
City officials in Sacramento say it's another fun and convenient way to roll around town.
"And if we have a new way of moving people around the city without having them get in their car, I think it's a great thing," said Jennifer Donlon Wyant, a Transportation Program Specialists for the City of Sacramento Public Works.
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But not without issues. Cities that already have scooters often receive complaints that they get in the way and block sidewalks as people leave them everywhere. And there are obvious safety concerns for riders and pedestrians.
"They zip along pretty fast and if you hit a little crack in the road, we want to make sure that they are safe for the people that make use of them," Lee said.
Last year the Davis City Council voted to ban electric scooters in Davis until they could do more research, but they're not off the table completely. In fact, Mayor Lee says the city is currently testing several scooters for safety and to see which companies can provide the best support.
"And the idea is that we're going to run a pilot soon for one or two companies, and then we are going to move forward with opening it up for actually having scooter-share for the people of Davis," he said.
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Opinions from Sacramento residents were mixed.
"I think the scooters have the potential to be very beneficial to the city," said Julius McIntyre standing next to a bike rack near 10th and L streets in downtown Sacramento.
But only, he says if, the city addresses safety and accessibility.
"So not only people that have jobs and work downtown are able to use them, but also people of the low-income communities," McIntyre said.
City officials say educating the public is key.
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"We got to learn from other cities about what works and what doesn't work. And we learned what works is educating folks about where they have to leave the devices, coupled with providing spaces for people to park them. So we're going to be doing that," said Donlon Wyant.
She says people will not be allowed to ride electric scooters on the sidewalk, and scooters have to be dropped off at a designated bike rack like this one.
Donlon Wyant says 20% of the new fleet will be designated to low-income areas.
The city will announce which company will provide the scooters early next week.
