Story and photos
by JOE GIDDENS
The City of Tucson Department of Transportation launched a six-month E-Scooter Pilot Program on Sept. 12.
Two companies, Bird and Razor, each have deployed 500 scooters with an additional 250 in designated “opportunity zones,” or areas of the city that lack motor vehicles and where residents have a low income.
The program aims to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and provide revenue to the city government.
The City of Tucson’s income from the project is a 20-cent-per-ride fee and a $4,000 application fee from Bird and Razor. The company’s annual fee is $15,000, which will be divided into the initial six-month pilot program. The remainder will be applied if the pilot is extended, according to city documents.
“I just rode both now for the first time,” said Tucson resident Ramzy Bejjani. “The Birds are really nice, but it’s really a huge wide turn. On the straightaway, it’s lovely. But if you’re going to like do some tight turning, it’s not gonna work. The razors are a bit more tight … so I guess it depends on what road you’re riding on, but choose accordingly.”
To ride a scooter, you scan the QR code on it with a smartphone. The fee is $1 to start and then 29 cents per minute for both services. That’s $18.40 for the first hour.
When you’re ready to end the ride, find an appropriate location to park it and swipe on your phone to end the ride. The bill will be charged to your credit card.
GPS plays an integral role to the scooters. It provides users with the location of the scooters, thus deterring theft, and monitoring where they’re being used in the city. GPS also will serve to keep the scooters off the University of Arizona campus.
“We are working with the city to geofence areas that the city and UofA deem red zones so not to be ridden into,” said Taylor Strand, a spokeswoman for Razor.
Pima Community College doesn’t have scooters specifically defined in its policies but it’s using its “Parking and Traffic Regulations” from 1999 as guidance in this matter, according to Michelle Nieuwenhuis, acting police chief of Pima.
At this time, there are no geofences in the Bird or Razor apps to prevent their use on Pima property.
Other rules of the service to know is riders must be over the age of 18, parking the e-scooters when you’re done is subject to the same parking requirements as bicycles.
Helmets are encouraged, especially since the scooters can travel at a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour. Razor also is offering complimentary helmets to users with home delivery by calling 1-833-LAST-MILE.
Bird also offers helmets for the cost of shipping at www.bird.co/safety-mobile
Injuries from e-scooters have risen as the platform spreads to new cites. Last year, there was 6,957 incidents in 2018. Further, most of those injured were not wearing helmets at the time, according to a Rutgers University study.
“I think we just got sucked into a trendy fad,” said Tucson Councilman Steve Kozachik during the City Council vote on the program. “That as soon as they start getting blown all over the place during the monsoons will prove how foolish it was to start down this path.”
This “path,” however, does serve as a greener – albeit less safe – alternative to driving on city streets.
“Really the fight over e-scooters … obfuscates the larger problem,” said Kylie Walzak of the Living Streets Alliance by phone. “Which is the fact that we’ve already allocated one-third of our public space to cars, and nobody seems to bat an eye at the level of daily traffic violence that’s committed on our streets by careless drivers that are not obeying the speed limit or are driving distracted or drunk and the friends.
“It’s not about scooters,” she continued. “It’s really about living in a city that was designed for cars and what kinds of consequences that has on people.”
We’ll find out by March if e-scooters are here to stay in Tucson. Meanwhile, the city of Phoenix also launched a six-month pilot program on Sept. 16.
E-Scooter
Rules
• Don’t ride on the sidewalk. Stay in the bike lane.
• Don’t block sidewalks or entrances or other ways that would interrupt pedestrian flow.
• Cross streetcar tracks at a 90-degree angle.
• Wear a helmet.
• Only one rider at a time on an e-scooter.
• No riding on University of Arizona Campus, parks or The Loop Path.
• Don’t drink and scoot.
Scooters that are not properly parked may be reported to their respective companies who have two hours to move them or eight hours if the complaint is made between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Bird: 1-866-205-2442
Razor: 1-833-LAST-MILE