Chicago to launch permanent shared electric scooter program in May

By Todd Feurer

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — Shared electric scooters will return to Chicago in May, following two test runs in 2019 and 2020.

City officials announced Thursday three companies have been chosen to operate shared scooter programs in Chicago – Lime, Spin, and Superpedestrian. Three other companies that applied to bring their e-scooters to Chicago – Bird, Helbiz, and Veo – were not awarded licenses.

The new e-scooter program is expected to launch in early May, according to the mayor’s office.

Lime, Spin, and Superpedestrian each will be allowed to provide 1,000 shared e-scooters across the city initially, although the ordinance creating the permanent scooter program could allow them to eventually expand to 2,000 scooters each.

In addition, the Divvy bike sharing system will add 1,000 scooters at 230 docking stations in and near downtown. They will be available under existing Divvy membership programs.

Divvy also will be implementing a simplified pricing structure, according to the mayor’s office. Divvy and D4E members will continue to receive unlimited free unlocks, free rides up to 45 minutes on Divvy bikes, and significant discounts for e-bikes and e-scooters through existing memberships. Additionally, for the next 12 months, the Chicago Department of Transportation and Lyft, which operates the Divvy program, will add a monthly credit of $10 to D4E member accounts to be redeemed for up to 200 e-bike minutes. New pricing will take effect with the launch of Divvy scooters

To start, only Divvy’s scooters will be available downtown, while Lime, Spin, and Superpedestrian will be allowed to deploy their scooters throughout the rest of the city, with at least half of them supplied in designated “Equity Priority Areas” on the South Side and West Side, where residents have fewer public transportation options.

If those three scooter vendors meet certain performance goals by mid-summer, they would be able to begin deploying scooters downtown.

“A scooter program offers another easy way for residents and visitors to choose active transportation to get around Chicago,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. “As transportation costs go up, it is critical that we support micromobility solutions like shared bikes and scooters, which provide affordable ways to travel in Chicago without needing a car.”

The City Council approved a permanent citywide shared scooter program last October, allowing licenses for up to three companies.

That followed two shared scooter pilot programs in 2019 and 2020. While those pilot programs limited shared scooters to only specific neighborhoods, the permanent program will allow shared scooters to be used on streets throughout the city, but not on sidewalks, the Lakefront Trail, the Bloomingdale Trail (also known as The 606), the Chicago Riverwalk, at Navy Pier, or in the area of O’Hare Airport.

Rules for the permanent scooter program require that they be locked to bike racks, street signs, light poles, or other fixed objects when they’re not being used. That followed widespread complaints during the first pilot program that users left scooters blocking sidewalks when they were done with them.

The scooters also will be equipped with “sidewalk-riding detection” technology to help prevent people who rent the devices from riding them on sidewalks. The rules for shared scooters require they be used only on city streets.

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