It’s been a month since electric scooters launched in Tucson, and while it’s early in the pilot program, initial ridership statistics are encouraging, a city official said.
As of Oct. 10, nearly 37,000 trips have been taken on both Razor and Bird scooters, averaging almost 1,300 rides a day, according to Andy Bemis, Tucson Department of Transportation’s Bicycle and Pedestrian program coordinator.
“I’m very encouraged by the ridership figures,” Bemis said. “For us, that is a clear indication there’s a demand for short trips on e-scooters in Tucson.”
The two scooter companies initially started out with 100 scooters at the launch in early September.
Since then, each company has upped that number to more than 400 each.
The max for a single company is 500, with another 250 possible in areas of high need.
Around 60% of riders have taken trips in the downtown area, including Fourth Avenue, Bemis said. Most others were spotted in the midtown area.
Along with each of those downtown trips has brought an adjustment period for people in the area, including store owners and their employees.
“The corners of the streets where they meet, that’s where all of them kind of get left, they huddle up there,” said Roxanne Rodriguez about the scooters close to her workplace, Chic Boutique and Spa, near East Congress Street and North Stone Avenue.
“They’re pretty cool, other than parking right in front of stores.”
The same wasn’t felt by Ben Busarow, a Jimmy John’s employee, who frequently sees delivery people heading out the store doors just east of Chic Boutique.
“I’ve seen three of them parked right on the entrance from the crosswalk onto the sidewalk, that little ramp there, it’s just a nuisance really,” Busarow said.
But employees haven’t needed to remove them off store property, Busarow added.
“Most people have the sense not to lay it right up against (the building.) It’s really not posing a super serious problem, they’re just in the way and you have to go around it where you didn’t have to before.”
Since launch, the transportation department has received 36 calls about the scooters, which have been a mix between frequently asked questions and complaints around improper use, Bemis said.
“The primary complaints we’ve been getting have to do with sidewalk riding and improper parking,” Bemis said. “So, those are the concerns that we’re going to try and find ways to address moving forward by educating people better about where they’re meant to ride.”
There have also been no “major injuries reported to us regarding scooters,” said Officer Frank Magos, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
The city’s transportation department plans on establishing an online platform by next week to determine how long the scooters have been idle and improperly parked in thoroughfares. It’ll give a better understanding of the companies’ compliance to the rules, Bemis said.
It may also decrease the number of inaccurate complaints from residents who believe a scooter has been improperly parked.
“The language in the permit says they must be parked to provide at least 4 feet of clear space for pedestrian flow if it’s left on a sidewalk,” Bemis said. “So sometimes I’ll get a photo from someone of a scooter on a sidewalk, but actually it’s a wide sidewalk and there’s plenty of space on either side so it’s not technically illegally parked.”
TDOT officials hope a survey later this year will help get additional feedback from the community about the scooters.
“It’s great to see so many trips, if they’re mostly replacing walking trips that’s a different impact on our community than if they’re mostly replacing driving trips,” Bemis said. “We’re interested in trying to replace more driving trips.”
