Alexandria’s pilot program testing dockless scooters (and bikes) is rolling along.
There are currently five vendors working with the city on the pilot (or “demonstration”) program that is allowing residents to test using electric scooters and dockless bicycles for transportation. Those companies are Lyft, Lime, Bolt, Byrd and Jump.
Skip and Spin have also indicated interest in participating in the program, said Christine Mayeur, Complete Streets Coordinator at the City’s Transportation & Environmental Services department. Each company is limited in the number of dockless scooters and bikes they can deploy in the region.
“The purpose of this demonstration program will be to evaluate the safety and popularity of shared mobility devices (such as e-scooters and dockless shared bikes) and overall performance of the companies,” according to Alexandria’s dockless mobility website.
Since the city started allowing dockless scooters and bikes to operate in Alexandria, city officials have received no reports of accidents or crashes.
Some residents have expressed concern about the speed and safety of the electric scooters in comments city officials have received, Mayeur said. Other residents have noted that the dockless mobility devices are a good “last mile” option to get to and from their bus stop faster or fill in gaps between Capital Bikeshare stations. “Other people say they’re just fun to ride,” Mayeur said.
The companies that have permits to operate in Alexandria deploy scooters daily based on projected demand, and collect them late at night for recharging and repair.
The city has provided residents with rules for using the scooters, including the following:
- Scooters cannot be ridden on sidewalks. Certain trails, all bikelanes and streets are allowed.
- Riders must follow traffic laws, including stopping at stop lights and stop signs.
- The devices should not be left anywhere that impedes pedestrian or vehicle traffic in any way.
Additional information on the demonstration program is available on the City’s Dockless Mobility webpage here.
If you’re trying a scooter for the first time, Mayeur has a few recommendations:
- Definitely have a helmet for safety. Although there have been no reported accidents in Alexandria since the program started, it’s better to be safe.
- Obey the traffic laws -- including coming to a full stop at stop signs and red lights, yielding to pedestrians and using hand signals while turning.
- Try out a scooter for the first time in a place where you’d feel comfortable – on a low-traffic street or a parking lot. Scooters are not allowed on sidewalks in Alexandria.
- Try scooters from each company. Each model is a little bit different in how it rides, and you might like one better than another.
- Read the instructions. For example, some have lights that turn on automatically, others don’t.
- Make sure you know how to use the brakes.
When the demonstration program ends in September, scooters will be removed from Alexandria until City officials are able to create final policies regarding usage.
To provide feedback on the program, email dockless.mobility@alexandriava.gov.
