Disability committee questions scooter safety amid improvements by Lime

Ongoing concerns over the safety of electric scooters and the issues they pose to Austin’s disabled community were front and center at a recent meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities.

The meeting saw a presentation from e-scooter company Lime, which gave an update on its initiatives to ensure compliance with Americans With Disabilities Act regulations, improve parking enforcement and introduce new technologies to enhance safety and accessibility in Austin.

In anticipation of the ongoing complaints about scooters being left in areas made impassable for disabled people, Lime’s operations manager Eli Davis said the company has issued 200,000 warnings for improper parking over the past year and is working to keep pedestrian walkways and ADA ramps clear. As part of its strategy, the company has introduced an AI-powered parking verification system that analyzes photos taken at the end of each ride to ensure scooters are parked properly and do not obstruct sidewalks or ramps.

Other disability-focused efforts include implementing Braille labels on its scooters to assist visually impaired pedestrians and integrating its reporting system with Austin’s 311 service, allowing residents to submit complaints that the company has committed to resolving within two hours. In that integration, accessibility-related requests are designated as high priority and must be addressed within an hour.

Last year, an audit presented to the City Council Audit & Finance Committee found the city lacks sufficient data to effectively regulate scooters. While Austin has permitted 6,700 e-scooters from two providers since 2018 that had generated nearly 18 million trips, the audit found challenges persist in enforcing rules due to limited data on violations and collisions.

The audit also highlighted communication delays between field staff and e-scooter providers, hindering timely enforcement. In comparison with eight other cities, only Seattle allows more scooters, with 9,750 in operation. The report recommended improving data collection and involving relevant stakeholders in policymaking to enhance regulation and safety.

Davis said Lime has started using geofencing and parking beacons, as well as GPS and Bluetooth technology to restrict scooter access in certain areas, including during major events like South by Southwest, while improving parking accuracy to prevent obstructions.

The city is also working to transition Lime’s bike permits to allow the deployment of the Lime Glider, a pedal-free, bike-like vehicle that is designed to be more accessible for older users and those with mobility challenges.

Despite the company’s recent steps, committee member Jennifer Powell questioned Lime’s ability to manage scooters that are tampered with or abandoned in unauthorized areas, arguing that while the company’s systems work for law-abiding users, many do not follow the rules.

“You have a lot of really great systems that work for people that are law abiding, but what do you do when one of your scooters gets jailbroken and ends up where it’s not supposed to be?” she said, while also questioning the impacts of scooters’ batteries on area creeks when they are discarded carelessly. “I appreciate that you’re doing a lot for user education … but we don’t seem to have a functioning society that can use a borrow-a-scooter system.”

“I don’t even know if your product should be available in our marketplace. I don’t think we’re mature enough for it, honestly,” she said.

In December 2024, Austin’s Transportation and Public Works Department provided an update on micromobility policy changes implemented earlier in the year. The city maintained a cap on permitted vendors and reduced the total number of e-scooters from 8,700 to 6,700, leading to a slight decline in overall ridership but an increase in trips per device. To reduce sidewalk clutter, the number of devices allowed in the downtown core was cut in half, while designated parking zones were introduced to improve organization.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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