City gathers feedback from e-scooter riders during open house
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The city of Austin listened to community feedback on electric bikes and scooters in the city during a Monday open house. Residents were able to share their thoughts on the city's micro-mobility program to help improve safety and vehicle parking.
The city is looking to update rules first established in 2019, when e-scooters first arrived on Austin's streets and sidewalks. Austin currently has two shared mobility partners for bicycles and scooters – Bird and Lime. Bird currently has a flock of 3,000 scooters in Austin, while Lime's fleet includes 3,700 scooters and 180 e-bikes.
During the open house at the Austin Public Library's Carver Branch, the city sought rider feedback on issues including safety of streets and scooter parking. In particular, the city wanted feedback on scooter parking boxes it has painted in some areas.
Mike Kimbro is the program manager for Austin's shared mobility services.
"We've done this in quite a few areas where we will use stencils and paint markings and delineators to outline an area to try to drive people to park within those areas," Kimbro said. "We're looking for feedback on where we can put more of those parking boxes to be more effective."
Lime also announced moves to improve e-scooter safety on Monday. The e-scooter provider said it was investing $5 million in Austin to improve rider safety, Lime said in a news release. The investment includes foot patrols, 24/7 customer support, an education mode and what it called "First Ride Academies". The company also said implements safety initiatives during large-scale events.
Lime's announcement and the open house mark the latest shifts in the Austin scootering and cycling landscape.
The city implemented changes to the parking code on March 1. Among them was a prohibition on parking or unloading in bicycle lanes - now punishable by a $75 standard fine, or a $50 early payment fine. Commercial vehicles are subject to a $300 standard fine, or a $150 early payment fine.
In March 2024, the city implemented a number of changes to its dockless electric scooter and bike policies. It lowered citywide cap on scooters from 8,700 to 6,700, which it later found helped lower clutter on city sidewalks. The city noted some serious head injury concerns related to e-scooter crashes.