Last revised: 10/8/2020
Latest additions marked NEW>

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

• In General

  • NEW>E-scooters and bikes rebound as COVID-19 crisis keeps on rolling (9/2/2020)
  • NEW>136 Million Trips Taken on Shared Bikes and Scooters Across the U.S. in 2019 (NACTO Report: 8/27/2020)
  • NEW>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

  • 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

  • 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>Report: Bike Infrastructure Key to E-scooter Usage in Portland (9/18/2020)
    • NEW>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)

• Environmental Impact

  • 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)

• Tourism

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

• Fatalities

  • NEW>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)
    • 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>JOMS study: Motorized scooters result in more severe injuries than nonmotorized scooters (9/23/2020)
    • NEW>E-Scooter-Related Injuries Are on the Rise; CPSC Releases New Study and Public Service Announcement (9/16/2020)
    • NEW>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>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)

• 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)