The Rochester City Council has approved a Memorandum of Understanding to support a pilot program of Lime scooters in Rochester from August 1 through November 30, 2019. The scooters provide another option for shorter downtown trips, which is a part of the Destination Medical Center (DMC) Integrated Transit strategy.
“This pilot reflects the City’s commitment to continue to explore transportation alternatives that help provide a wide selection of options for our community,” said Deputy City Administrator Aaron Parrish. “We hope to utilize this opportunity with Lime to better understand the use of scooters and how it would work best in our community.”
Current City ordinances do not prevent any scooter company from coming to Rochester and offering electric scooters. Lime expressed its interest in working with the City and DMC to identify how the City would benefit most from scooters, and what problems may occur with them. The pilot allows the City to require Lime to decrease the number of scooters at any time and gives the City and its partners access to a dashboard that includes ridership data.
“Scooters, like walking or biking, will assist our community in reaching its sustainability goals while providing another affordable and equitable transportation option. The pilot will allow Rochester to consider the longer-term implementation of such a solution and how it might complement other mobility options,” said Kevin Bright, DMC Director of Energy and Sustainability.
Scooters are treated like a bicycle; they must travel in a bike lane or traffic lane and are not allowed to be operated on sidewalks. The scooters would be checked out through a variety of means and are expected to be parked on the sidewalks out of the path of travel when not in use. Every scooter will be labeled with an email and phone number, and Lime will have local representatives available to respond to inquiries.