It seemed like maybe the pace of electric scooter news was slowing. Wrong.
We present the most comprehensive weekly scooter media brief of all time (compared to issues one, two, and three, anyway).
National News
- Still Smarting From Uber, Cities Wise Up About Scooter Data (Wired, Sept. 18)
- Scooter and e-bike renter Lime to enter dozens more cities (Reuters, Sept. 20)
National Commentary
- What the battle over scooters gets wrong (University of California, Sept. 18)
- Can e-scooters solve the ‘last mile’ problem? They’ll need to avoid the fate of dockless bikes (The Conversation, Sept. 20)
- Have Electric Scooters Pushed Cities Too Far? (National Law Review, Sept. 20)
National Media, Local News
- E-Scooter Companies to Ride Out Florence Indoors, Not on Street (Bloomberg Government, Sept. 13)
- Lyft deploys electric scooters in Santa Monica (Tech Crunch, Sept. 18)
- To Live and Scoot in L.A.(Bloomberg, Sept. 18)
- Santa Monica, CA kicks off Shared Mobility Pilot Program (Smart Cities Dive, Sept. 18)
- Pentagon Declares War on Scooters (Defense One, Sept. 19)
- Fatal e-scooter accident emerges just as California legalizes riding without a helmet (The Washington Post, Sept. 20)
Local News
- Birmingham kicks Bird out of the nest: City impounding scooters, fining company (AL.com, Sept. 10)
- Scooters and app-rented bicycles prompt new San Diego panel focused on mobility solutions (San Diego Union-Tribue, Sept. 13)
- Knoxville issues 150-day ban on rented electric scooters, bikes (Wate, Sept. 13)
- In response to complaints, Bird creates ‘no-go zones’ where its scooters aren’t welcome (Los Angeles Times, Sept. 14)
- San Diego continues hands-off approach as electric scooter injuries mount (San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 16)
- California adults get OK to ride motorized scooters without helmets (San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 19)
- Brown exempts adults from wearing helmets on scooters (The Sacramento Bee, Sept. 19)
- Rejected scooter company files appeal, calls SF permit process ‘secret’ and ‘unlawful’ (San Francisco Examiner, September 19)
- Cincinnati bans electric scooters from sidewalks (Fox19, Sept. 20)
- The dos and don'ts of riding those electric scooters under proposed city regulations (San Antonio News-Express, Sept. 20)
- Scooters banned from San Jose's Villa Calle (The Mercury News, Sept. 20)
- Bloomington Not Planning To Add Regulations For Electric Scooters (Indiana Public Media, Sept. 20)
- Electric skateboard maker takes on Bird, Lime with scooter for sale (Denver Business Journal, Sept. 20)
- Year-old Bird surpasses 10 million rides (L.A. Biz, Sept. 20)
Local Commentary
- The Bird is the Word, With Reservations (The Harvard Crimson, Sept. 19)
FULL STORY: Weekly Electric Scooters News
Scooter Media Brief: Electric Scooters Emerge Victorious in the Dockless Bike Share Game
At the beginning of 2017, few people in the United States could have predicted the quick rise to prominence of dockless bike share companies. Even fewer could have predicted what would happen next.
Scooter Media Brief: Safety, Security, and Business Models Raise Concerns
Recent news has revealed some cracks in the pavement below the speedy wheels of electric scooter share.
Scooter Media Brief: A Fork in the Road for Scooters
A few milestones stick out from the rest of the scooter news from January 2019.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research