Pittsburgh’s e-scooters will have to put on the brakes unless state legislators add them permanently to Pennsylvania’s vehicle code by July 9.
E-scooters have operated legally in the city since 2021, when the legislature approved them as a part of a mobility pilot program called MovePGH. That initiative grouped bikes, car rentals, rideshare, buses, and e-scooters — operated by Spin — at central hubs to study the effect on people’s travel patterns. But the state only authorized e-scooters, as part of MovePGH, for two years.
There’s not much the city can do as the clock winds down on the e-scooter program, said Rylan Seifert, a policy analyst with the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.
“It’s up to the state,” Seifert said. “We’re doing everything in our power to avoid that lapse in service for our residents who depend on these scooters.”
There has been some question of exactly when the two years are up. The governor signed the mobility pilot and use of e-scooters into law on June 30, 2021, but actions that were required on Pittsburgh’s end weren’t signed until July 9, 2021. That is the date city officials and Spin say they are working from.
“We’re optimistic that [the program] is going to be able to continue,” said John Lankford, Spin’s senior director of partnerships and policy.
Legislation to do that is pending in the state Senate. Introduced by state Senator Dan Laughlin, a Republican from Erie, the measure would allow scooters to operate in Pittsburgh, and in other smaller cities around the state. (Philadelphia, however, asked not to be included.)
Laughlin did not respond to a request for comment before deadline. But before a vote in the Senate Transportation Committee in May, he described e-scooters as a way to provide “innovative, flexible, and low-cost transportation” while reducing traffic, pollution, and stress “by reducing car trips and increasing access to public transportation.”
Justin Gensimore is the executive director of the Senate committee and works for its chair, state Senator Marty Flynn. He said the e-scooter pilot produced a lot of good results that should be extended to the rest of the commonwealth.
“Any time that we can provide a new and efficient [opportunity] for transportation, it’s always a good thing,” Gensimore said. And in Pittsburgh, where people have come to rely on the e-scooters, “This access to transportation is critical to their livelihood. It is so important that it continue.”
Even if it does, the way e-scooters operate in Pittsburgh could be subject to change.
PIttsburgh passed an ordinance to regulate e-scooters in 2021. But if scooters continue to operate in the city, DOMI’s Seifert said the department has taken to heart the feedback officials have received.
“Things are not going to look exactly the same, should scooters continue to operate in Pittsburgh,” Seifert said, citing possible changes to parking enforcement or the fees the city charges Spin. “But we really do believe in the success of this program and think that these scooters are a vital component of our transportation ecosystem.”
The new bill gives local governments more latitude to manage how e-scooters operate on their streets, by requiring eligible governments to pass an ordinance. That extra measure of local control is what won the support of the Pennsylvania Municipal League, said Amy Sturges, the league’s deputy executive director of advocacy.
The league advocates for local governments, and Sturges said its members agree that different types of mobility enhance the lives of residents. But local governments need to have a say in how they are deployed, she said, and under Laughlin’s bill, “Municipalities do not have to allow scooters. It’s a local choice.”
While the MovePGH program includes bikes, buses, rideshare, and the e-scooters, Spin and its e-scooters quickly took center stage. Residents and advocacy groups such as Pittsburghers for Public Transit have raised concerns about access for people who are differently abled or have low incomes, and worried that the scooters could detract from investments in mass transit. Others worry about how closely Spin is regulated: how errant scooters can clutter sidewalks and the injuries and fatality that have occurred on scooters.
In a final report to the state, DOMI wrote that scooter accidents, and attendant injuries and fatalities, are likely underreported because of how the state classifies e-scooters and the various thresholds for reporting. Since the pilot began, DOMI said 45 people were injured or injured someone else, and one person died. Officials wrote that incidents are “trending downward,” and amounted to roughly one “reported injury per 17,000 rides.”
In addition, there has been a concern that the city undercharged Spin to operate: $150 for its permit, though there is also a 10 cent per ride charge that goes to pay for things such as scooter and bike parking corrals.
The cost to run the MovePGH program was covered by a series of grants, so Spin’s Lankford understands that fees may need to change. However, he hopes that any increases go to “cover the reasonable costs” to administer the scooter program, not to “be a revenue source for cities.”
Lankford said that boosting fees could limit the company’s ability to invest in better technology and hardware, like the new scooters the company intends to introduce in Pittsburgh if the legislation advances. With wider, airless tires to take on the city’s potholes and shorter decks to cut down on two riders trying to use one scooter, the scooters represent more than $1 million in investment, Lankford said.
“The goal should be us working together to provide more and better alternative transportation options,” Lankford said. “And it’s really a partnership in that way.”
State Rep. Emily Kinkead supports the scooters. She said Spin is the first such mobility tool that has extended into the North Side beyond the general vicinity of Allegheny Commons, and it allows her constituents to easily travel between North Side neighborhoods for the first time.
“A trip that in the car takes 5, 10 minutes, it takes you 15 minutes on the scooter,” she said. “It would take you an hour on a bus, and there’s no other options.”
Some legislators worry that the bill under consideration continues to disallow Pennsylvanians to own their own e-scooters. Gensimore, the Senate Transportation Committee’s executive director, said the intent is for that to change.
“My understanding is that there is some language that is forthcoming” to extend ownership beyond an insured, commercial provider, he said.
Harrisburg is currently embroiled in passing a budget, and the e-scooter legislation has yet to pass the Senate or be considered by the House. However, state legislators, city officials, and Spin’s Lankford all said they’re optimistic the measure will pass in time to keep the wheels turning.
