The story below is from our May/June 2019 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Photo By Dan Smith
Roanoke City recently announced the impending arrival of scooters as an additional mode of public transportation for citizens.
Yet another smart phone-ignited convenience is on the way, this time a 15-miles-per-hour lime green scooter that can be picked up and dropped off just about anywhere in Roanoke. Electric scooters will be roaming the sidewalks, parks and bike lanes of Roanoke by summer, it is estimated.
The city is jumping all over a new General Assembly-endorsed bill that gives the green light (so to speak) to the scooters. One of the scooter companies interested in Roanoke is Lime, the one with the citrus-colored scooters.
Roanoke Planning Director Chris Chittum says about 500 scooters will be initially available and that the number could climb to 1,400 eventually “based on what one operator was telling us.” They will be placed in “the higher activity areas like downtown and neighborhood centers.” The scooters will be tracked and their placement adjusted as needed.
Vice Mayor Joe Cobb, a staunch advocate of public transportation, says, “Our public transit options continue to expand with the addition of e-scooters. While these dockless wonders will add a new beat to our transit rhythm, we’ll all have to be increasingly aware of one another on the roads. The thing I love about the scooters is the additional option they provide to get around, kind of a next step between walking and riding a bike. In fact, between walking, scootering, biking and bus riding, I’ll be able to leave my car parked while getting around in our beautiful city.”
Chittum expects the approval process to be finished by “spring or summer … After that, it will depend on when operators want to get permits and start their programs.” That should happen in a few weeks after approval, he estimates.
These are not just recreational vehicles, says Chittum. “We think they have the potential to work in concert with transit and may reduce car parking demand in downtown. They tend to be really good for quick, short trips, under two miles. We hope they will replace short car trips rather than [requiring] long walks.”
There has been some controversy about the scooters, which are enabled by a smart phone application and can be picked up and dropped off just about anywhere in the city. They often crowd sidewalks and can pose dangers. Still, a recent poll by Populus of people who are familiar with the scooters gives them a 70 percent approval rating.
Use of the scooters (by those 18 and older) will cost $1 to activate and 15 cents a minute for operation, less expensive than a cab or even a bike share rental. The company earning the contract to provide scooters will pay a $5,000 fee to Roanoke.
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