Audit: City needs better data to improve e-scooter rules

The city of Austin does not have enough information to ensure it can make and enforce rules governing electric scooters, according to an audit report presented to the City Council Audit & Finance Committee on Wednesday. The audit also indicated that the city has failed to include relevant parties in making those rules.

Audit Manager Patrick Johnson presented findings of the audit team, then Richard Mendoza, director of Transportation and Public Works, told the committee he agreed with the audit’s findings.

E-scooters came to Austin in 2018, with multiple providers placing thousands of the scooters around the city. At the time, the city had no rules for managing their use and ended up impounding a number of devices before adopting emergency rules. The city now has rules about the number of scooters, speed limits, usage and parking as well as user requirements. However, enforcement of some of those rules can be difficult and the Austin Police Department does not have the personnel necessary to deal with most nonserious incidents.

The city is currently allowing a total of 6,700 e-scooters, provided by just two e-scooter companies, down from four companies in 2023. Lime and Bird are the only vendors currently allowed to operate in the city. According to trip data provided to the auditor’s office, over the last five years, riders in Austin have taken almost 18 million e-scooter trips.

Comparing Austin with eight other cities, auditors found that only Seattle allows more scooters than Austin. There are 9,750 scooters operating in Seattle, compared with 2,000 in San Antonio, 1,475 in Dallas, 3,000 in Denver and 3,400 in Portland. They noted that other cities have problems collecting data about e-scooters similar to problems Austin has experienced.

Auditors said that there are delays in reporting some e-scooter violations because the field staff for Transportation and Public Works, which is responsible for enforcing right-of-way violations, do not have the authority to communicate directly with the e-scooter providers. Instead, the TPW office staff handles that communication.

The city has tried to collect data on the number of collisions with e-scooters, but auditors noted that city staff does not have a process for getting data on such collisions from scooter users and stakeholders other than the companies providing the scooters. Auditors pointed out that one provider reported 342 collisions, one provider reported 21 collisions and two other providers reported no collisions, prior to the departure of two of those providers.

Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool noted that there had been problems in past years with people throwing scooters into city creeks, as well as Lady Bird Lake. She asked whether that problem had been addressed. Joseph Al-Hajiri, parking and mobility division manager, said that problem has lessened and that the Watershed Protection Department will respond when that problem is reported.

Pool also asked about scooters on sidewalks. Mendoza said although scooters are not permitted on the trail along Lady Bird Lake and some other areas, in general they are allowed to operate on sidewalks as well as streets.

Mendoza noted that he had suggested rules to prevent scooter use after 10 p.m., particularly in the downtown area. However, he said there were objections because many people working downtown use scooters to get to and from work. As a result, he has suggested lowering the speed limit in the downtown area to 10 miles per hour. In addition, he said he has agreed to an increased number of scooters during big festivals to help people get around Austin.

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