Adventures in Micromobility
Earlier this summer, the NYC Department Of Transportation rolled out the new Shared E-Scooter Pilot in eastern Queens. It follows a successful and similar program in the Bronx. There, as in Queens, three companies, Lime, Veo and Bird provide scooters. (all the FAQ’s) Veo is the only company that offers a seated scooter, but all of them do have accessible scooters available and for longer time periods. My colleague and I went to Southeast Queens, an up and coming destination, to take the scooters for a spin. We work for the New York Coalition for Transportation Safety, a small non-profit for Queens and Long Island that works to reduce the injury and death rates from traffic crashes. We were pleased with the program, the NYC DOT roll out and the safety precautions each company abides by.
I have been a long time bike and pedestrian activist. I’ve worked as a bike tour guide, and traveled to Albany to lobby for better laws to protect vulnerable road users. Those are the people outside a vehicle who are using the road- pedestrians, seniors, children, cyclists, people waiting at bus stops. There are usually more of us on a city street, than individuals in space gobbling cars and trucks, but our share of the road has always fallen short. Before the pilot, I’d never been on an “E” anything. They scared me. Plus, I’ve found this form of “active transportation” quite lazy.
I’ve had a change of heart though. The scooter program is a great option for Queens. It’s a great option for all ages, lifestyles, and destinations in the pilot program. According to DOT, over 2,000 Bronx users took more than 275,000 rides between August 2021 and December 2023 using discounted pricing offerings. We can expect similar success in the World’s Borough, where many neighborhoods are underserved by mass transit, and motor vehicle operators face increasingly more dangerous reckless driving, lack of parking, increased costs of insurance and gas. The ebike option will serve many residents who will benefit from a safe, affordable and environmentally sound method of transportation. In fact, since it’s June 27th launch, Lime reports having over 7,500 riders taking 35,000 rides and nearly 20,000 new signups to the program.
Our trial run was a great experience, and I’d recommend readers consider this pilot for the excellent opportunity it is. This growing trend shows no signs of stopping, and the scooter share program has many advantages over private ownership.
How safe is it?
Many of us are quick to group E-scooters into the melee of privately owned ebikes and motor bikes, we shouldn’t. If you do opt to own a device privately, knowing the micromobility safety regulations and policy are essential. Motor bikes, mopeds, gas powered dirt bikes, etc are indeed a scourge that needs to be addressed but the experience with this pilot is quite different. The companies are faced with accountability standards for safety and with users holding a membership, they are less likely to be irresponsible as an illegal dirt bike or motor bike might be. That is an issue for certain, but not to be compared to this new program.
So far, Lime reports the three year Bronx pilot is 99.99% incident free. The E-scooter program follows the rules for E-scooters established by NYC DOT and pertains to the scooter share participants. Everyone, either using the share or privately owned s-cooters must follow these guidelines. Please note that the guidelines are under local jurisdiction so from Albany to Wantagh you’ll need to check the town regulations.
For our trial run, we simply used a standard credit card and put down a $10 deposit and were charged by the minute. We selected the calm streets surrounding Roy Wilkins Park and found it to be a great place to learn.
All of the scooter companies are required to include in-app safety training. This includes a quiz, age verification and a “Beginner Mode” which requires the first three rides to have no more than a 10 mph speed, and no trips are allowed during overnight hours. The reported crash rate is fewer than one crash per 10,000 rides to date.
E-Scooters are not allowed in parks or on sidewalks, and all of the devices have safeguards that prevent users from getting too far in the off limits territory. Either they beep, slow down or even stop in their tracks if the driver is in a park or riding on a sidewalk.
A couple things concerned us and could easily be addressed by the DOT and providers. There was no way to signal for turns or stopping. A cyclist would use hand signals, but one riding an E-scooter would have a much harder time with hand signals. Blinkers should be added. We also found a need for side mirrors. It’s also tricky to decide where to ride, and one quickly understands the safety of having a bike lane, especially a protected bike lane, which separates vehicles of different speeds. It’s not clear whether one should take up a full lane, or ride in a bike lane or between parked and moving cars- but without the ability to see what is coming up from behind, it can be dicey in traffic.
Micromobility services are considered ideal for “last mile” trips such as connections to subway and bus routes. We found that having E-scooters placed near bus stops provided an exceptional option for commuters to hop on a scooter rather than wait on the side of the road where there were hardly an bus shelters or seating provided. The E-scooters in the share pilot are larger and heavier than a privately owned one, for the most part, and we felt quite balanced and comfortable throughout the rides. They handled rough road quite well, though the rider must remain vigilent against poor road surfaces. As with any vehicle operator, distraction is deadly, and attention is needed. Bike lanes and bus lanes make for very safe riding. An extra layer of security comes from seated scooters, which are provided by all three vendors. That option is even more safe with more control possible. According to a report from Transportation Alternatives, Cyclists continue to be killed where infrastructure fails them: 83% of bike riders were killed on streets without protected bicycle infrastructure.
We would hope that speed is considered by car and truck drivers as they navigate around and among users of Emobility devices. In a borough with 3,432 traffic signals, drivers should expect to stop quite frequently. Gearing up and exceeding posted speeds is not safe and causes crashes with other cars, property and most importantly, the vulnerable road users…fellow humans.
Where To?
The scooters are placed from Flushing in the north to Springfield Gardens towards the south, and western border includes Kew Gardens Hills, Briarwood, Jamaica and extends east to Queens Village and Cambria Heights. The scooters can be docked at stations all throughout this region, and a new one can be picked up. It’s true, they can be left on sidewalks, but no one expects them to block sidewalks. The rule is they maintain the curb side of a sidewalk where other furniture is typically placed. (benches and bus shelters). Users can opt for any scooter, but an account must be established first. An app for your phone is downloaded, and from there you can locate available scooters and also find out how much charge they have to get to your destination. The availability of Lime, Veo and Bird seemed to be quite similar throughout the regions we visited.
The fee schedule varies, and discounts are possible, but the guidelines are different for each company.
Lime: https://www.li.me/why/community/lime-access
Veo: https://veoride.typeform.com/to/C3iOLVpY?typeform-source=www.veoride.com
Bird: https://help.bird.co/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=4525412340628
Practice Makes Perfect
I hope this little primer motivates you to go on out and take a spin. They really are game changing transportation, and there’s no going back to the days of Buick’s and gas guzzlers. There isn’t even any sign of going back to the days when trolleys went the short distances that make up the majority of our transportation needs. And, we definitely aren’t going back to the era of “walking to school three miles uphill, both ways!”. So eScooters and ebikes are here to stay.
Plan ahead for your first trip as well as the subsequent ones, so that you become comfortable and confident. Bring a helmet, make sure you have time to practice navigating, and check your route before you go. Roads with slower traffic and bike lanes will be safer. Use the app to find locations where the scooter share is located. We at the New York Coalition for Transportation Safety are always happy to do presentations, workshops, bike rodeos or senior education classes for interested parties. Please don’t hestitate to reach out. We’re also happy to partner with the vast network of advocacy groups in the NYC area.
Additional information on micromobility in New York can be found at
Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee