Last revised: 1/4/2023
Latest additions marked NEW>

Impact of Scooters on Urban Transportation, Safety, and the Environment

• In General

  • NEW>Smarter: Which Is Better, an Electric Scooter or an E-Bike? (5/31/2022)
  • NEW>Are Last-Mile Solution Scooters Safe? (1/5/2022) (analysis of user rights under terms of service)
    
  • The new e-scooter generation: How cities and operators are
    working together for increased safety (12/2021)
  • Difference in Enforcement Challenge (privately owned versus shared) (12/29/2021)
  • E-Scooters Are Everywhere in Europe (12/7/2021) (European response to shared e-scooters, reduced numbers, increased restrictions)
  • As E-Scooters and E-Bikes Proliferate, Safety Challenges Grow (10/11/2021)
  • The E-Scooters Loved by Silicon Valley Roll Into New York (4/19/2021)
  • Lyft Multimodal Report (4/15/2021)
  • Make E-Scooters Work With Transit, Not Against It (4/7/2021)
  • Drawing the map: The creation and regulation of geographic
    constraints on shared bikes and e-scooters in San Francisco, CA (2021)
    • Commentary on the study - Balancing Equity and Density (2/8/2021)
  • Study: 40% of escooter injuries occur on the first ride (10/27/2020)
  • New Study Shows Safety Risks of Riding e-Scooters on the Sidewalk (10/15/2020)
  • Report: Bike Infrastructure Key to E-scooter Usage in Portland (9/18/2020)
  • E-scooters and bikes rebound as COVID-19 crisis keeps on rolling (9/2/2020)
  • 136 Million Trips Taken on Shared Bikes and Scooters Across the U.S. in 2019 (NACTO Report: 8/27/2020)
  • A Black and White Issue: Lime Confronts the Scooter Racial Divide (7/24/2020)
  • COVID-19 Reveals How Micromobility Can Build Resilient Cities (4/6/2020)
  • Two Wheels, Lots Of Controversy: Electric Scooters And Urban Space (NPR 1/13/2020)
  • Shedding NHTS Light on the Use of "Little Vehicles" in Urban Areas (11/18/2019)
  • Most Electric Scooter Riders Are Men. Here's Why (12/5/2019)
  • New Safety Standards For E-Scooters Announced (11/27/2019)
  • Why Do City Dwellers Love to Hate Scooters? (9/16/2019)
  • Cities now have three choices for how to regulate e-scooters (9/2/2019)
  • Scooters are a huge problem for cities. No one knows how to solve it yet (8/30/2019)
  • Electric scooters: Love or hate them? Here's what you need to know (8/13/2019)
  • Mapping the Impact of Dockless Vehicles (Where they are in the U.S.)
  • Electric Scooters Aren’t a Transportation Revolution Yet (4/19/2019)
  • Electric Scooters Now More Popular than Docked Bikes in Cities (4/17/2019)
  • More than 8,000 electric scooters have taken over SXSW in Austin this year (3/15/2019)
  • Ready or Not, Here Comes the Micromobility Revolution (2/5/2019)
  • Micromobility: the Prose and Poetry of the Scooter-Faithful (2/4/2019)
  • The scooter stampede of 2018 is great news for urban transportation (12/19/2018)
  • Baltimore, MD, Kansas City, MO, Nashville, TN – Local Bike Advocates: E-Scooters Are Game-Changing (1/14/2019)
  • Santa Monica, CA – PBS Newshour (11/15/2018)

• Operator Education and Safety

  • NEW>Report: Rapid growth of e-scooter programs has led to a ‘patchwork approach to safety’ (10/10/2022)
  • NEW>Superpedestrian and Helbiz will partner with Populus to gather and analyze trip, crash, infrastructure and other data to give cities better planning tools to make bike and scooter travel safer.
  • NEW>Audi joins Spoke Safety, Qualcomm, Commsignia to help protect bicyclists (and other vulnerable road users) through connected technology (6/1/2022)
    • Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) Technology
  • Scooter safety training allowing Bronx residents to travel safer (2/16/2022)
  • Bird's Safe Start discourages intoxicated riders from using its scooters (7/15/2021)
  • POST-MORTEM: Revel Didn’t Move Quickly Enough to Calm Safety Fears (7/29/2020) (possible lessons to be learned from Revel's experience with injuries and deaths in NYC)
  • Can Corporate Micromobility Companies Really Turn Its Riders Into Street Safety Advocates? (6/29/2020)
  • Bird's Educational Tour (6/26/2019)
  • Portland's Scoot Smart video (12/2019)
  • Lime's Public Policy and Safety Advisory Board
    • Why Electric Scooters Companies Are Getting Serious About Safety (7/16/2019)

• Winter Weather and Scooters

  • What happens to electric scooters in Milwaukee in the winter? How Bird, Lime, Spin plan for the snow (11/6/2019)

• Regulation and Enforcement

  • The Dubious Logic of Scooter Lock Rules (10/4/2021)
  • Atlanta, GA
    • City of Atlanta fails to collect $200K in scooter impound fees (11/08/2019)
  • Los Angeles, CA
    • As scooters flood Los Angeles, the number of tickets written to riders is soaring (8/23/2019)
    • LAPD Launches Task Force To Crack Down On Scooters (8/22/2019)
  • We Polled Lime Riders About the 'No Sidewalk' Rule (8/7/2019) (Milwaukee)
  • Austin, TX
    • Austin hosts event to educate riders on new scooter rules (6/22/2019)
    • Scooter riders beware, city sets safety rules, fines (5/23/2019)
  • As Electric Bicycles Go Faster, Evolve and Become More Popular Legal Questions Swirl (5/31/2019)
  • The Rise of Electric Scooter Regulations (1/3/2019)
  • The Secret Life of Teen Scooter Outlaws (9/23/2018) (rampant non-compliance with age and other legal requirements by teenage riders)
  • Is Electric Scooter Safety Next on the Regulatory Menu? (7/9/2019)

• Suburban Responses to an Urban Phenomenon 

  • Edina banishes scooters in light of complaints (1/17/2020)

• Data Collection

  • Does L.A.’s Scooter Data Program Violate State Privacy Laws? (8/23/2019)

• Substitution for Short Auto Trips, Public Transit, Walking?

  • NEW>Micromobility in limbo: Takeaways from Paris and LA (12/31/2022) (2 very different cities in terms of auto travel and public transit)
  • NEW>Banning Electric Scooters Results in More, Longer Car Trips, Study Says (11/1/2022)
    • The underlying study
  • NEW>City data shows where people are riding scooters—and where they’re not (10/20/2022) (Long Beach, CA)
  • Forecasting e-scooter substitution of direct and access trips by mode and distance (8/30/2021)
  • ‘Trade-off’: Survey shows scooters replace both car and walking journeys (6/3/2021)
  • Study of e-scooter use in Washington, D.C. (3/1/2021) [factors effecting origin and destination of shared e-scooter trips]
    • The study; Shared, electric scooter origins and destinations
  • Report: Bike Infrastructure Key to E-scooter Usage in Portland (9/18/2020)
    • Underlying PBOT report (9/2020)
  • Google Maps mixing rideshare, bikeshare, and scooter options into transit direction suggestions (8/27/2019)
  • Chicago, IL – Chicago’s scooters are mostly being used during rush hour, and 3 other things to know about the devices (8/19/2019), DePaul Study: Scooters Are Being Used for Trips to Transit, and in Low-Income Areas (8/22/2019)
    • The Study: A Day in the Life of Chicago's E-Scooter Pilot Program (8/14/2019)
    • Chicago is a top city for bike share and scooters, study says (9/9/2019) (reporting on a study of automobile trips under 3 miles and 1 mile in major U.S. cities)
  • Cleveland, OH –  Early scooter use in Cleveland suggests commuter use, as well as leisure riding (9/6/2019)
  • Portland, OR – Impact of scooters on short car trips (1/20/2019)
    • The report
  • San Antonio, TX - Effect of e-scooters on pre-existing bike-share program (1/6/2020)
  • Spokane, WA – Lime Bike and Scooter 2019 Year-End Report (1/8/2020)
  • Electric scooters: not so eco-friendly after all? (7/6/2019)

• User Demographics

  • NEW>Study shows there’s a gender gap in electric scooters, and it’s a safety concern. Here’s why (7/21/2022)
  • NEW>Shared e-scooters and gender equity: Learning from women's perceptions and experiences (UK study) (5/2022)
  • Nearly Half of Bird Riders in Atlanta Are Women. Bike Lanes Have Helped (11/8/2021)

• Environmental Impact

  • Li-Cycle partners to recycle batteries in scooters, e-bikes (7/14/2021) (Helbiz)
  • E Is For Environment: Unpacking The Benefits Of E-Scooters (3/5/2020)
  • How green are dockless e-scooters? (11/4/2019)
  • Electric scooters aren’t quite as climate-friendly as we thought (8/2/2019)
  • Are e-scooters polluters? The environmental impacts of shared dockless electric scooters (8/2/2019)

• Battery Hazards

  • NEW>2 Die in Harlem Fire as Warnings Mount About Scooter Battery Hazards (8/4/2022)
  • NEW>E-scooter fire safety becoming a growing concern (5/30/2022) (faulty lithium ion batteries)
  • Obsolete manufacturing standards suspected in 65 scooter and e-bike battery blazes that have killed three New Yorkers this year (9/25/2021)
  • Scooter, e-bike batteries caused 55 fires, two deaths so far this year, FDNY says (8/13/2021) 

• Tourism

  • Electric scooters add a buzz to city sightseeing (2/22/2019)

• Fatalities

  • 41 deaths in 3 years tied to e-scooters, e-bikes and hoverboards (9/17/2020)
  • At least 29 people have died in electric scooter crashes since 2018 (2/7/2020)
    • [no longer tracking individual cases]
    • San Francisco, CA (3/2/2022)
    • Nassau Cty, NY (7/17/2021)
    • Dallas, TX (3/15/2020)
    • Hamden, CT (7/1/2020)
    • Elizabeth, NJ (11/20/2019)
    • Lexington, KY (11/4/2019)
    • Spokane, WA (10/9/2019)
    • Hartford, CT (9/26/2019)
    • Portland, OR (9/2/2019)
    • Hartford, CT (8/26/2019)
    • North Port, FL (8/26/2019)
    • Denver, CO (8/12/2019)
    • Atlanta, GA (8/6/2019)
    • Durham County, NC (8/5/2019)
    • Atlanta, GA (8/4/2019)
    • Atlanta, GA (7/25/2019)
    • Tampa, FL (6/20/2019)
    • Atlanta, GA (5/2019)
    • Nashville, TN (5/2019)
    • Tulsa, OK (4/2019)
    • San Diego, CA (3/2019)
    • Santa Monica, CA (3/2019)
    • Austin, TX (2/2019) 

• Injuries and hazardous behavior

  • Formal Studies

    • NEW>E-scooter accidents surge as the micromobility devices’ popularity grows (11/1/2022)
      • Underlying studies: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (10/2022); National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2022)
    • NEW>Traffic accidents have indeed risen with the craze, but only in cities that already badly serve cyclists (10/2/2022)
    • NEW>Rise in e-scooter accidents prompts call for 'urgent' government action (9/29/2022) (U.K.)
    • NEW>E-scooters: More than 500 injuries recorded in London last year (5/26/2022) (the report)
      
    • NEW>UK E-scooter Safety Report (5/2022) (finding fewer injuries to riders and others involving e-scooters than bicycles or motorcycles)
    • Injuries Using E-Scooters, E-Bikes and Hoverboards Jump 70% During the Past Four Years (8/30/2021)(U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
    • Severity of e-scooter rider injuries associated with trip characteristics (2/2021)
    • New Study Shows Safety Risks of Riding e-Scooters on the Sidewalk (10/15/2020)
    • JOMS study: Motorized scooters result in more severe injuries than nonmotorized scooters (9/23/2020)
    • E-Scooter-Related Injuries Are on the Rise; CPSC Releases New Study and Public Service Announcement (9/16/2020)
    • Estimated Incidence of Electric Scooter Injuries in the US From 2014 to 2019 (JAMA Network Open 8/31/2020) (approaching 30,000 emergency room visits in 2019)
      • UPI Summary
    • Impeding access: The frequency and characteristics of improper scooter, bike, and car parking (3/2020)
    • Electric scooters are 'seven times' more dangerous than bicycles on Danish roads (2/27/2020)
    • Those E-Scooters Might Not Be as Dangerous as You Think (1/27/2020)
    • Electric Scooter Injuries and Hospital Admissions in the United States, 2014-2018 (JAMA 1/8/2019)
    • Wear your helmet, concludes new study showing electronic scooter injuries have nearly tripled in the last four years (1/13/2020)
    • Injury from electric scooters in Copenhagen: a retrospective cohort study (12/22/2019)
    • E-scooter study finds more injuries in CT scans and x-rays (12/4/2019)
    • There's a physiological reason for e-scooter injuries, scientists assert (12/3/2019)
    • Injuries associated with electric-powered bikes and scooters: analysis of US consumer product data (11/2019)
      • E-Bikes Riskier to Ride Than E-Scooters and Bikes, Study Suggests (12/26/2019)
      • E-bikes show distinct pattern of severe injuries (12/25/2020)
    • E-Scooter Collision and Injury Analysis (4/2019) (San Francisco)
    • Dockless Electric Scooter-Related Injuries Study — Austin, Texas, September–November 2018 (4/2019)
    • Inside the CDC's Epidemiological E-Scooter Study (5/3/2019)
      • Electric Scooter Use Results in 20 Injuries per 100,000 Trips, CDC Finds (5/2/2019)
      • Study Report
    • Consumer Reports Injury Study: E-Scooter Ride-Share Industry Leaves Injuries and Angered Cities in its Path (2/5/2019)
    • Injuries Associated With Standing Electric Scooter Use (1/25/2019)
      • Electric scooters like Lime's and Bird's sent more people to two Los Angeles emergency rooms than regular bikes, new study says (1/26/2019)
      • Emergency Rooms the Destination for Many Electric Scooter Users (1/25/2019)
  • Other Commentary 
    • NEW>Proliferation Of 'Micromobility Vehicles' Vie For Bus Drivers' Attention As Collisions Up (10/18/2022) (NYC)
      
    • NEW>Big Rise in E-Scooter Injuries Among U.S. Kids (10/10/2022)
    • NEW>Scooter collisions in city rose 58 percent last year (San Francisco) (3/14/2022)
    • Injuries related to electric scooter and bicycle use in a Washington, DC, emergency department (5/2021)
    • Perils of the pandemic: Scooters, cleansers and button batteries (3/4/2021)
    • Safety tips from the CPSC (9/16/2020)
    • Dockless scooters seemed at first like a sidewalk scourge, but they’re changing city streets for the better. (4/27/2020)
      
    • Electric scooters have been in the city for 18 months. How many people are really getting injured? (1/10/2020) (Cincinnati)
    • More e-scooters on the roads, and more riders sent to hospitals with head injuries (2/1/2020) (discussion of FL injury cases and litigation)
    • Report reveals high rates of e-scooter injuries (11/10/2019) (Washington University)
    • Scooter-related injuries at TGH spike roughly 700%, report shows (10/22/2019) Tampa)
    • San Diego Hospitals See Rise in 'Scooter Trauma' (10/4/2019)
    • ER doc: Stay off electric scooters (9/16/2019)
    • Rising Number of E-Scooter Accidents Tied to Alcohol (9/4/2019)
    • 'Wild West Of Wheeled Transportation': E-Scooter Injuries Increasing Without Regulation (8/31/2019)
    • Most e-scooter accident victims were not wearing helmet, nearly half were too drunk to drive: Study (8/30/2019)
    • Are scooters too dangerous for LA’s streets? (8/28/2019)
    • Virginia Beach EMS have been tracking e-scooter-related injuries. Here’s what they found (8/27/2019)
    • Why do scooters crash so often? Tiny tires don’t help (8/17/2019)
    • Spokane woman breaks arm and jaw in four places after Lime scooter brakes abruptly lock (8/15/2019)
    • Despite high injury rates, 80% of e-scooter riders refuse to wear helmets (8/14/2019)
    • Why E-Scooters Are on the Rise, Along With Injuries (7/20/2019)
    • The e-merging e-pidemic of e-scooters (injury study) (6/27/2019)
    • HealthWatch: 911 on Scooter Danger (6/10/2019)
    • Boom in Electric Scooters Leads to More Injuries, Fatalities (6/5/2019)
    • Electric Scooter Injuries on Rise (3/24/2019)
    • Scooter Madness In Austin Puts Safety Concerns In High Gear (2/6/2019)
    • Electric scooter injuries pile up, half coming from drunk or high riders (3/8/2019)
    • Electric Scooters Are Popping Up in Cities Across the Country. But Are They Safe? (2/5/2019)
    • Pedestrians and e-scooters are clashing in the struggle for sidewalk space (1/11/2019)

• Diverse Accident Scenarios

  • Caught a curb (1/17/2020)
  • Nine-year-old operator (9/12/2019)
  • Bicycle collision caused by improperly parked scooter (9/16/2019)
  • Scooter hit while running a red light (872019)
  • Scooter hit after 15 year old rider failed to observe traffic signal (8/5/2019)
  • Scooter overturned: fractured skull, a bone fracture around his eye socket and a brain bleed (8/5/2019)
  • Purse caught in handlebars (8/3/2019)
  • Man on electric scooter hits pedestrian, then gets hit by car himself when he tries to flee police (7/25/2019)
  • E-scooter crashes into construction hole in alley (7/27/2019)
  • Crashing electric scooter into stopped car (7/30/2019)
  • E-scooter rider hit by semi on busy roadway (6/20/2019)
  • Car hits e-scooter attempting to cross avenue (7/26/2019)
  • E-scooter ridden into the side of turning bus (7/25/2019)

• Insurance (see also Terms and Conditions of Use)

  • The risks of the underinsured scooter market (10/8/2019)

• Skid Mark Graffiti

  • Topekans ‘drawing penises’ with e-scooter skid marks at levels Bird hasn’t seen in other cities (6/15/2021)

• Use in Crime

  • Criminals using scooters as a tool to steal cars in Atlanta (/16/2021) (“the scooter rider will bump into your car from behind and pretend to be injured, and once you get out to check on that person, their accomplice, will join the act and enter your vehicle-both will then flee with your valuables.”)

• Vandalism

  • Oklahoma City Uncovers Rental Scooters in Bricktown Canal (2/1/2020)
  • Austin - Electric scooters thrown into Lady Bird Lake (2/14/2019)
  • Stolen, burned, tossed in the lake: e-scooters face vandals wrath (12/28/2018)

• Vulnerability to Hacking

  • Security risk for e-scooters and riders (1/27/2020) (bluetooth communication between phone and scooter can be intercepted)
  • You Can Add Sudden-Acceleration Attacks to the List of Electric Scooter Dangers (2/12/2019)