Battery-powered kick scooter rentals are finally coming to New York City, the Department of Transportation said Thursday – as part of an 18-square-mile trial of the City Bike-esque Share program in the Northeast Bronx.
The pilot said in a press release that the pilot started this spring with 2,000 to 3,000 scooters available in the vicinity of Eastchester, Wakefield, Pelham Parkway and Co-op City.
“We are happy to deliver the city’s first e-scooter share pilot – Bronx residents from CO-op City to Soundview NYCFerry Terminal, and ready to try e-mobility,” DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman said in a statement
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“Safety is our leading priority, so DOT will require that scooter companies keep pavements and pedestrian ramps clean as well as closely track all accidents,” Gutman said.
City Council members required the DOT to launch a pilot program as part of a push to legalize use e-bikes and e-scooters on city streets.
E-scooter rentals have gained popularity in other cities, but until now were out of the New York City market.
City officials conducted a similar pilot program for the “dockless” bike-share in 2018, and five companies participated. The DOT eventually brought dockless bikes to Staten Island only.
According to the DOT, the initial scooter will be cleared by Pilot City Bike’s growing network of bike-share stations docked in the Bronx.
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