Interview – LUZ LAZO – “loose la-zo” – Transportation reporter, Washington Post – discussrf the growth of scooters around the D.C. area – why so many scooters are showing up and what the rules are for leaving scooters around the city.
- BIO: LUZ LAZO is a Washington Post Transportation reporter covering Washington’s Metro, buses, Capital Bikeshare and taxis, and the region’s road network
- Washington Post: First the dockless bikes, now scooters. The electric scooter is the latest entrant into the app-based mobility market. Residents and visitors in the nation’s capital, and in many other U.S. cities, now have access to motorized scooters that rent for as little as $1 plus 15 cents per minute. The services work similarly to the dockless bike systems, allowing users to track down a scooter via an app and to drop it off just about anywhere after a trip is completed. No docking is required. The new transportation product is touted as another option for commuters to make first- and last-mile trips in complement to traditional transit. Motorized scooters follow the entry of the dockless bike-share systems last year and continue the evolution of app-based shared services that began with Uber in the past decade. But the scooter systems have not been without controversy, having already raised concerns about people riding on sidewalks and without helmets. Electric scooters arrived in the District last month, when California-based Waybots launched. LimeBike, which started dockless bike operations in the city last fall, is adding scooters to its fleet this week.Scooter operations are being allowed in the city as part of the District’s exploration of new mobility services. In September, the city opened its doors to five dockless bike systems.
