Sharing the future of transportation

Scooter rental coming to Eastern Queens in 2024; carshare greatly expanded

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Subways and buses no longer are the only forms of shared transportation in the five boroughs.

And with city officials expanding the shared automobile program this spring and expanding the Bronx e-scooter pilot program into Queens next year, they appear to be going all in on the new alternatives.

Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez of the city’s Department of Transportation announced the expansion of the scooter rental program, begun in the Bronx in 2021, on June 15.

“E-scooters and other forms of micromobility will help us build a cleaner and greener transportation system that connects residents to commercial and transit hubs,” Rodriguez said in a statement from his office. “I am thrilled that our e-scooter sharing program is here to stay and that it will expand to eastern Queens. Our pilot program met and exceeded our ambitious goals—and it’s time we make it available in more neighborhoods.” nities, easing dependence on motor vehicles by offering an environmentally friendly mobility option. The service was also found to provide an important connection to transit, providing what is called a “last-mile” connection to subway stations, bus and ferry stops.

The DOT said the first 12 months of the Bronx program saw more than 1 million rides from 86,000 user accounts.

Safety requirements included in the contracts with scooter companies Bird, Lime and Veo include an in-app safety training and quiz, as well as age verification for new riders. There is also a Beginner Mode, during which each rider’s first three trips are speed-limited at 10 mph and cannot start in overnight hours. All scooters must be capped at 15 mph.

Future Mobilization

The Queens program will primarily include Tier 1 and Tier 2 priority investment areas over roughly 20 square miles in Eastern Queens, from Flushing and Auburndale to the north down to Rochdale Village and Springfield Gardens to the south.

The expansion will provide critical connections to major transportation and commercial hubs for roughly 600,000 residents.

Exact program boundaries are still being determined based on community feedback.

Last November, the DOT released an evaluation report highlighting the successes of the pilot and examining uses after more than 1.4 million rides.

The report found the e-scooter share pilot provided functional and accessible mobility options to historically underserved commu-

The DOT said it has recorded few serious injuries and no fatalities through the program so far. In the first 12 months of the pilot, there was fewer than one crash reported per 8,000 trips.

New Yorkers who receive or qualify for any local, state or federal assistance program, such as SNAP, NYCHA and discounted utility bills are eligible for discounted e-scooter share rates. Materials promoting discounted pricing are available in multiple languages.

As part of the pilot, all companies must provide wheelchair-accessible scooters. As of June 1, 2023, over 1,200 riders have collectively taken nearly 140,000 rides through discounted pricing services, averaging over 100 rides per account.

Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Laurelton), who chairs the Transportation Committee, shared Rodriguez’s enthusiasm fr project expansion in last week’s statement.

“I celebrate the extension of DOT’s e-scooter sharing program to transit desert neighborhoods like communities I represent in Southeast Queens that have been long underserved by public transit,” Brooks-Powers said. “This program will provide a clean, efficient, and affordable micro-mobility option to community members in need. I look forward to working with DOT to ensure the program is rolled out equitably.”

The scooter announcement came less than three months after the DOT in late March began an effort that more than doubled the number of parking spaces in the city set side for carshare programs operated by Getaround, Truqit and Zipcar.

Members who enroll in one of the company’s programs can reserve a car, drive it away at the scheduled time and return it to the same marked, dedicated parking spot when finished.

The pilot program began in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx in 2018. Expansion this past spring increased the number of dedicated parking spots in the city to 552, up from 230. The DOT has said more sites will be evaluated and established throughout 2023.

A list of carshare locations throughout the city can be found on the DOT’s website at on.nyc.gov/3CDmr6O.

City officials in the spring said the pilot program reduced car ownership and estimated that it cut greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent and vehicle miles traveled by 6 percent.

Mayor Adams said in March that the program established a proven track record of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and offering New Yorkers an alternative to owning cars.

“That’s why we expanded this program in February and why we are doing it again ...

This program has been studied thoroughly with extensive community feedback, and the results are clear: Car-sharing is making New York City safer, cleaner, and healthier.”

“Doubling the size of this program will make curbside carshare accessible in more neighborhoods, save people money, and build upon the success of our successful pilot program,” Rodriguez said in the statement.

The DOT said carshare users took about 160,000 trips total during the pilot, with an average of 24 rides per month per space. Each month, an average of 17 unique carshare members used vehicles in each space.

The agency also said annual vehicle miles traveled were reduced by about 38.7 million and that an annual net reduction of 12,000 metric tons in greenhouse gases per year was realized.

The pilot dramatically increased diversity of carshare users: Black and Latino membership doubled to about 30 percent of total carshare users.

After the first year of the pilot, unauthorized use of on-street carshare parking spaces declined dramatically, once the DOT allowed carshare companies to use paint to clearly mark their spaces with “Carshare Parking Only,” making the program much more reliable for customers.

The DOT said the program brought carshare to 14 neighborhoods citywide with low and moderate incomes, including Inwood, Washington Heights, Harlem, Parkchester, Red Hook, Jamaica and the Rockaways. Many of those neighborhoods saw the highest rates of overall use during the pilot. Q