What's Next For The E-Scooter Program In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — As Alexandria heads into the final month of the nine-month pilot program for electric scooters, city staff are working on evaluating the program and a long-term plan to manage the devices.

The program kicked off in January when the first company received a permit to bring dockless devices, or e-scooters, into the city. To date, Lime, Lyft, Jump, Bird, Bolt, Skip, and Spin have permits allowing their e-scooters to be used and parked in Alexandria. According to a July memo from City Manager Mark Jinks, permits expire on Sept. 30 unless the Transportation & Environmental Services director grants an extension.

City staff's evaluation of the pilot program is in progress. The process includes collecting more data and community feedback, researching programs in other cities and coordinating with regional jurisdictions. A recommendation for the future of how the city oversees e-scooters will be provided to City Council. The evaluation report and recommendation will be open for public feedback in the fall.

The city has opened a new public feedback form through Sept. 6.

Under Virginia legislation that took effect on July 1, local jurisdictions can regulate shared mobility devices. If a locality does not have regulations for shared mobility devices, they can be offered "for hire" without restriction on Jan. 1, 2020.

A mid-program update provided insight into data and community concerns. Data through the end of May showed 101,515 e-scooter trips in Alexandria with an average travel time of 10 to 15 minutes. There were two scooter crashes without injuries reported by the end of May—Alexandria Times reported two more crashes since then. In addition, there were 97 parking concerns and 324 other concerns reported to scooter companies, 31 impounded devices, and six police citations for riding on the sidewalk or reckless driving.

City staff received hundreds of comments or complaints about e-scooters. Common issues included: improperly parked scooters; safety for pedestrians, people with disabilities, etc; and loss of character and visible clutter in Old Town.

Numerous Del Ray and Old Town Alexandria Patch readers shared their opinions on the program. While there were a mix of positive and negative comments, the bad outnumbered the good. Del Ray Patch reader Linda Kelly believes the scooters present a hazard when just left on the sidewalk. "I would like them better if they needed to be returned to a dock, like the city bikes," she wrote.

Others believe they don't fit in Alexandria's neighborhoods. Old Town reader Doug Redman wrote, "Our sidewalks, especially, along King Street are already congested. Adding scooters to the mix is dangerous."

Another reader had a change of heart after trying out e-scooters. "At first, I did not like seeing them littering the sidewalks and always falling over, but I decided to try them, and I think they are a great alternative, if only people would not just abandon them in the worst of places," wrote Lisa Eberhart on Del Ray Patch.

To address community concerns, new actions are moving forward. Some areas of the city have been "geofenced" to prevent scooter uses to start or end trips in these locations. Examples are Market Square, the City Marina, Waterfront Park and areas around Metrorail stations currently closed for construction. The city is also implementing parking corrals and asks companies to encourage users to park scooters in these designated areas. The parking corrals will be visible in the companies' apps.

Several outreach events coordinated by the city and e-scooter companies are coming up. Residents can learn about the program, safety and parking rules, and how to ride e-scooters safely at these events:

• Tuesday, Aug. 20 from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at King Street and Union Street in Old Town
• Saturday, Aug. 24 from 10 a.m.-noon at Southern Towers Farmers Market
• Thursday, Sept. 5 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at First Thursday on Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray

See more about the city's pilot program here.