2018 E-Scooter Findings Report

The city of Portland, Oregon conducted an E-Scooter pilot program from July 23 through November 20, 2018. Designed to assess whether – and how – e-scooters could help meet Portland’s transportation needs, the pilot featured a permitting framework that aligned e-scooter company business practices with four critical City of Portland objectives: (1) Reduce traffic congestion by shifting trips away from private motor vehicle use; (2) Prevent fatalities and serious injuries on Portland streets; (3) Expand access to opportunities for underserved Portlanders; and (4) Reduce air pollution, including climate pollution. The Portland Board of Transportation (PBOT) instituted data-sharing requirements as one tool to assess the impact of e-scooters. Through the 120-day pilot period, companies were required to provide data that included real-time availability, trip starts and destinations, routes, and safety information as a condition of the permit. With this data in hand, PBOT could understand where and when e-scooters were used and monitor compliance with East Portland deployment requirements. Data enabled City staff to see e-scooter riding patterns and miles traveled. Technical data collection was supplemented by a rider survey, citywide poll, focus groups, an online complaint form, and community and stakeholder input. During the four-month period, people took 700,369 trips covering 801,887 miles on 2,043 e-scooters. Trip data analysis and PBOT’s user survey data revealed more about ridership trends: (1) A majority of Portlanders viewed e-scooters positively; (2) Portlanders primarily used e-scooters for transportation; (3) E-scooters replaced driving and ride-hailing trips; (4) E-scooter users preferred riding on low-speed streets and in bike lanes; and (5) E-scooters attracted new people to active transportation. The pilot also revealed challenges related to illegal sidewalk riding, incorrect scooter parking, and equity issues. Given the scale of the challenges, a second pilot is planned for 2019.

• Record URL:
  https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/709719
• Corporate Authors:

  Portland Bureau of Transportation

  1120 SW 5th Ave
  Suite 800
  Portland, Oregon  United States  97201
• Publication Date: 2019

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: 36p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Consumer preferences; Electric vehicles; Equity; Focus groups; Impacts; Origin and destination; Pilot studies; Routes; Scooters; Surveys; Traffic safety
• Geographic Terms: Portland (Oregon)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01707778
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 12 2019 9:18AM