Along with the controversial rallies, a lengthy occupation and an eternal August heat wave, 2018 will be remembered as Portland's summer of the scooter.
For some Portlanders, the peppy and affordable transportation alternatives have been a blast. For others, they're as pesky as yellowjackets at a picnic. In dozens of letters to the editor and online comments over the past week, Portlanders have complained that scooter jockeys are going without helmets, hitting pedestrians, cruising at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour into traffic or dumping them haphazardly when they're done.
Indeed, there've been a few minor e-scooter accidents in the three weeks since the city launched a pilot program with three different brands. And while some Portlanders claim on social media that there've been many more near-misses, the biggest problem with the potential scooter sensation is a lack of knowledge of - or attention to - the rules.
Yes, there are rules. And for this experiment to take hold, the city and the companies' communication and enforcement must improve.
For a change, however, we haven't arrived here for a lack of trying. Commissioner Dan Saltzman and the Portland Bureau of Transportation should be lauded for their work earlier this year to get ahead of this craze. It's clear they learned from the fiasco that was Uber's unauthorized entry into the Portland market - a strategy that some scooter companies have also tried elsewhere.
Portland transportation officials researched the trend, sought advice from a citizen group and invited various e-scooter entrepreneurs to join a four-month trial program that ends in late November. Participants had to agree to a variety of stipulations, including distributing scooters across both sides of the river equitably, using a specific app and - brilliantly - sharing ridership data that's been withheld from other municipalities.
Come to Portland without playing by our rules, the invite warned, and the city will confiscate scooters.
As The Oregonian/OregonLive's Andrew Theen has reported, Portland's regulations are some of the stiffest nationwide. To cover administrative, marketing and enforcement costs, the city charges companies a 25-cent-per-ride surcharge, and applicants paid $5,250 to play.
That's not chump change considering the total of 2,049 e-scooters operating in the city today will eventually rise to a maximum of 2,500. As of Aug. 15, the city logged more than 96,000 rides, or around $24,000. Dylan Rivera, the bureau's spokesman, said revenue that goes beyond costs will be spent to ramp up marketing and enforcement efforts.
Good, because the biggest challenge to scooter success is ensuring both Portlanders who are on and off the two-wheelers are safe.
The city has received 700 complaints - from 300 individuals - as well as another 150 reported by the companies. Most center on scooters on sidewalks or riders without helmets. State and city rules require helmets, which some of the companies have agreed to provide to riders at no cost. City rules also ban the e-scooters from city sidewalks and parks, including the Eastbank Esplanade, Waterfront Park and the Springwater Corridor. And kids 16 and under aren't allowed on scooters.
Rivera said Portland police, parking enforcement officers and park rangers are tasked with scooter supervision. For now, most folks are getting warnings, he said. But from the looks of it, that should ramp up sooner rather than later along with a citywide campaign to get the word out. Tickets, even if small, could serve as a reminder that what was once considered a toy is now a regulated vehicle - and must be treated like one.
City leaders cleverly avoided the adversarial relationships other cities currently have with scooter companies. But it may be more difficult for them to foster a good relationship between scooter fans and other Portlanders. An Oregonian/OregonLive reader poll - albeit unscientific - shows the steep hill they may face. Thoughts on scooters? "KeepOnScootinPDX" scored 39 percent of the vote Friday afternoon, while "StopScootinPDX" received a hearty 61 percent.
It would be a shame for Portland to miss out on a chance for a fun, convenient and low-cost option for a full commute or just a little help making that last stretch between home or work and public transit. This city values creativity, environmentally friendly options and car alternatives.
Scooters could fit the bill as long the city takes the time now, when ridership is high, to smooth out what has become a bumpy road. Without that work, this viable option may very well get kicked to the curb.
-- Laura Gunderson for The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
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Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom. Members of the editorial board are Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, Therese Bottomly and John Maher.
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