urbanMSP

I figured I would create a new thread for scooter sharing in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Bird scooters launched in Minneapolis and St. Paul during the week of July 8th.

It just so happened that the scooters were launched the day after Minneapolis announced that it is working and regulations for dockless scooters.

The city of Saint Paul has asked bird to remove all scooters from its public right-of-way. Bird initially removed all the scooters from Saint Paul, but they were back in a few hours.


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I'm not quite up to speed on these. Obviously they don't fit comfortably out with the cars on the street or on the sidewalk. So, the plan is for people to ride these in bike lanes?

I'm not quite up to speed on these. Obviously they don't fit comfortably out with the cars on the street or on the sidewalk. So, the plan is for people to ride these in bike lanes?

Yes, I don't know the specific regulations, but they are supposed to use the same facilities as bikes. I feel that makes the most sense.

I don’t think cities have any exact regulations yet, but it sounds like the plan is to treat them the same as the bikes.





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if where talking regulations (specifically involving bird) anyone know what/if the current regulations are for motorized scooters, I would assume there are some since motorized scooters have been around for a while, hell growing up my neighbor had a electric scooter they would ride around the block and a kid in elementary school that had a razor motorcycle that he would ride to school and lock it up on the bike rack

Somewhat related to regulations:

Found this article on curb.com. Absolutely wonderfully written piece.

https://www.curbed.com/word-on-the-stre ... me-streets


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Steve Jobs had biting criticism for the Segway behind the scenes, but when it was introduced he diplomatically proclaimed "people will design cities around these!", tacitly implying that the only way they could work in an urban environment would involve a fairly radical redesign.

"Motorized Foot Scooters" are defined in state statute 169.011 and given basically the same "rights and duties" and bicycles in 169.225.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cit ... 169.011.46
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.225

Maybe if the Segway arrived in a blast of hoopla today with the greatly expanded bike lane system we have it might fulfill the original vision.

My current biggest concern is that once people start zipping around on electric scooters on bike paths, we'll see a surge in privately owned gasoline powered scooters and skateboards with stinky, noisy 2 stroke engines.

"Motorized Foot Scooters" are defined in state statute 169.011 and given basically the same "rights and duties" and bicycles in 169.225.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cit ... 169.011.46
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.225

In that case I would argue that the city and make abundantly clear that the scooters are allowed the same rights and restrictions as bicycles meaning yes you can use them on existing bicycle infrastructure and certain streets, no you cant use them on sidewalks. I would be a little in favor for being a bit stricter on people with the scooter in the beginning so people have time to get used to them and to be honest I say the best areas for people to get used to them would be places like the chain lake, the midtown greenway, west river parkway, etc. before letting them lose in the city centers

My current biggest concern is that once people start zipping around on electric scooters on bike paths, we'll see a surge in privately owned gasoline powered scooters and skateboards with stinky, noisy 2 stroke engines.

If I recall correctly MN law states that only a selected few motorized vehicles are allowed on bike trails/paths (E-Bikes, Motorized Foot Scooters, Mobility Scooters, and Segways) and even then they are limited to a max of 20 mph and I think they are also limited to electric as well but I'm not so sure about that. I said it before but I would be a little in favor for being a bit stricter on people with the scooters and any motorized vehicle in the beginning so that it is clear that what goes where.

Saw my first abandoned Bird scooter on the Greenway last week.

Abandoned? Lol

Pro tip: don’t ride without glasses/sunglasses. Both times I’ve ridden so far, I’ve had some dust/debris get in my eye and I had to pull over. So yeah, forget their dumb helmet requirement, but DO plan to have some kind of eye protection when you ride

A bunch of Lime scooters were dropped in Minneapolis this morning, along with their bikes in SLP and Edina.

A bunch of Lime scooters were dropped in Minneapolis this morning, along with their bikes in SLP and Edina.

I also saw a couple of Lime Bikes in Minneapolis this morning.

I also saw a couple of Lime Bikes in Minneapolis this morning.

Their business strategy begins to bear fruit.

According to the app, there are a number of bikes in Golden Valley and Crystal as well.

Lime has spread their scooters out more evenly across the city vs Bird's concentration downtown and North Loop.

Shameless plug, enter code RZU5LBF to get free lime rides!

If these rental scooters/bikes/whatever are going to become permanent fixtures, I would strongly encourage the city to require they work with the existing Go-To transit cards. The new Nice Ride dockless bikes and Hour Car already do. After registering, you just tap and go.

Letting these companies effectively privatize last-mile public transportation, and requiring you to run their proprietary (GPS-tracking) apps in order to use the service, is not being a good citizen. Nice Ride doesn't require an app; they work with the Metro Transit RFID Go-To cards. So these other services should be regulated to do likewise. It's not a technology limitation issue, obviously.

If we're going to give up sidewalk space to these corporations, let's make sure the service is as accessible as possible by making them easy to use by everyone.