Legislation pending in the state House would renew an e-scooter mobility program in Pittsburgh and put private users elsewhere on the right side of the law. (Capital-Star photo).
Electric two-wheeled scooters have emerged as an increasingly popular mode of transportation in the last decade. They’re relatively inexpensive, small enough to carry on a bus or train and much faster than walking. They’re also illegal to use on public streets in Pennsylvania.
Legislation that would give e-scooter riders similar privileges as cyclists to use public roads passed the state House Transportation Committee last week. It must pass in the full House and get through the state Senate before becoming law.
House Bill 2218 is part of a package that would reinstate Pittsburgh’s shared scooter mobility pilot program that expired last year. It also would create rules of the road for electric scooters.
State Rep. Emily Kinkead (D-Allegheny) said the program’s abrupt end left many who relied on the scooters to get around Pittsburgh’s hilly neighborhoods stranded and about 40 people unemployed.
“E-scooters are not just a fun ride, they are actually critical transportation infrastructure,” Kinkead said. “The neighborhood that I live in has no public transit access to the neighborhood right next to it, unless you go downtown and back out again, which I challenge anyone to do in under an hour.”
Pittsburgh’s e-scooter program, called Spin, gave people access to grocery stores, events and other opportunities many who drive take for granted, Kinkead said. While the bill is unlikely to reach Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk to become law this year, it keeps the conversation going for the next legislative session, she said.
The pilot, which ran between July 2021 and April 2023 as part of Pittsburgh’s alternative mobility program Move PGH, provided around 40,000 rides a month with more people using the e-scooters during warmer months. While accidents involving e-scooters are difficult to track and probably under-reported, according to an assessment of the program, PennDOT data showed no increase in crashes involving “vulnerable road users” including scooter riders.
The program drew complaints from some Pittsburgh residents, however, when the scooters were abandoned on sidewalks near the riders’ destinations instead of being returned to charging stations.
Rep David Delloso (D-Delaware), who cast the only vote against the legislation, said he has heard from police chiefs in his district that e-scooter use is a concern for law enforcement and that they would like to discourage it.
“I’m afraid this creates a burden on our police. I’m afraid this creates a burden on traffic movement,” Delloso said.
Kinkead’s bill, which passed 24-1 on Oct. 7, would establish rules for e-scooter use, including a 15 mph speed limit and restricting them from sidewalks in business districts and roads with speed limits of 35 mph or greater. It would also give the city the ability to fine scooter users or scooter companies for violations, such as failures to properly park scooters and for not collecting abandoned scooters.
Kinkead said the bill incorporates lessons learned from Pittsburgh’s first pilot program and would reinstate it for another two years. But it would also put riders across the state who have made e-scooters part of their commutes on the right side of the law.
“Technically, that is unlawful right now, and most people don’t know that. It’s interesting, because people who work in this building don’t know it,” Kinkead said, referring to the state Capitol.