Chicago’s second electric scooter pilot begins next month with familiar e-scooter brands.
The pilot launches Aug. 12 and will include vendors Lime, Bird and Spin, according to an announcement from the Chicago Department of Transportation.
The pilot, which ends in mid-December, will have four times as many scooters as last year’s program and be available in most areas of the city.
The only parts of the city where scooters will not operate are the lakefront, the 606 trail, O’Hare Airport and the central business district. The central business district region is bounded by Chicago Avenue on the north, Roosevelt Road on the south, Halsted Street on the west, with another western boundary on Clark between Chicago and Division Street.
Each scooter company can deploy up to 3,333 devices, and they will be required to deploy at least 50% of their devices within an equity priority area, which are mainly located on the South and West sides. Earlier this month, Lime announced it will provide a 50% discount for rides beginning in priority areas.
The city said it aims to use the second pilot to identify ways to expand access to safe, reliable and equitable mobility options for Chicagoans. But the city also wants to address complaints some residents had last year, such as sidewalk clutter and company compliance. The long-term goal of the second pilot is to determine if Chicago can create a permanent scooter-sharing license.
In this year’s pilot, e-scooters are limited to 15 mph, cannot be ridden on sidewalks and can only operate from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Riders are required to use bike lanes and obey all traffic laws. A new rule also requires all scooters to be locked to something while not in use, including a bike rack or other fixed object.
To address concerns of how scooter-sharing could spread Covid-19, scooter companies are required to disinfect scooters each time a staff member comes in contact with one. Additionally, riders are encouraged to wear gloves and wash or disinfect hands after each use.
“It’s great to be back in Chicago,” said Lime’s Chicago Government Relations Director LeAaron Foley in a statement. “Lime scooters will fill transportation gaps in many neighborhoods on the South and West sides—connecting residents to more opportunities while serving as a valuable part of the city’s transportation network. And as the city continues to battle Covid-19, scooters will also allow all residents to get around on an open-air vehicle while remaining socially distanced.”
Chicago officials chose scooter vendors that met certain criteria around having locking mechanisms and agreeing to service priority areas. The city also only asked scooter companies that participated in last year’s pilot to apply.
Last year’s pilot only included 3,500 scooters and they mainly operated on the West and South sides of the city. After the pilot ended, the city collected feedback from riders and residents, which generally showed favorability for the method of transportation.
VeoRide, a Chicago-based e-scooter company, was the only local vendor to participate in last year's pilot. Though it was not chosen for Chicago's scooter pilot this year, VeoRide is currently available in other cities, such as Atlanta, Cleveland and Tallahassee, Fla., according to its website.
