"Ride it, Park it, Lock it" campaign kicks off today, to help people park e-scooters properly
Leaders with the City of Portland, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, the scooter companies and community organizations spoke at a news conference Aug. 8. From left to right, they are Momoko Saunders, Vendor Manager for suma, Kanika Agrawal, Regional Director of Micromobility Operations for Lyft, Priya Dhanapal, Deputy City Administrator for Public Works for the City of Portland, PBOT Director Millicent Williams, Hayden Harvey, Director of Government Relations for Lime and Sarah Iannarone, Executive Director of The Street Trust. Photo by PBOT.
Aug. 8, 2024) Portland entered a new transportation era today, as the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) announced new partnerships designed to make shared e-scooters a permanent part of the city's transportation environment, with more options and more accessible service than ever before.
After a competitive process, PBOT this year awarded multiyear contracts to Lyft and Lime, the leading e-scooter companies in the nation, to provide up to 3,500 e-scooters combined among the two companies. The public-private partnership requires the companies to deploy scooters across the city each day, to make sure Portlanders don't have to go far to find a ride.
PBOT also requires them to provide scooters with seats, a feature that makes them more accessible for people who may not be comfortable riding a conventional scooter that requires standing. The companies are also required to offer discounts for people living on low incomes. Discounts are available through the Lime Access and BIKETOWN's Community Pass programs.
This image shows the advertisement planned for display on TriMet buses. Learn more about the rules of the road for e-scooters and the Ride it, Park it, Lock it campaign. Image by PBOT.
A new locking requirement will make sure every e-scooter has a built-in locking mechanism. All e-scooter riders will be required to end their trip by locking the device to a bike rack, signpost or BIKETOWN station (BIKETOWN scooters only). This should reduce the instances of scooters blocking sidewalks or corner ramps. A public information campaign and centralized dispatch number will make it easy for the public to report e-scooters that are blocking the sidewalks.
PBOT’s hope is to make shared e-scooters and shared e-bikes—known as “micromobility”—reliable, accessible, and sustainable options for transportation now and in the future, PBOT Director Millicent Williams said.
“Portlanders have long embraced biking, walking and public transit, and since the end of the pandemic we have seen them embrace shared e-bikes and shared e-scooters at record levels,” Williams said. "We’re supporting these sustainable transportation options with our growing network of over 400 miles of bikeways and by committing to a permanent program for shared e-scooter service. The public-private partnership that PBOT staff created will make e-scooters more accessible to more Portlanders, while also showing cities across the nation that sustainable transportation can be good business."
“Combining bikes and scooters seamlessly in one app through a single membership has the power to get even more people out of cars and experiencing the benefits of transportation on two wheels,” said Kanika Agrawal, Regional Director of Micromobility Operations for Lyft. “Riders are going to love our new scooter, which was purpose-built with a focus on safety and reliability, while keeping the rider experience top of mind. We are grateful to our partners at PBOT and Nike for the opportunity to usher in this next phase of micromobility in Portland.”
“Lime is proud to have served Portland since 2018. Over the last six years, our riders have completed over four million trips; and we’re grateful to our community partners, and colleagues at PBOT for joining us in our mission to decarbonize transportation for all Portlanders,” said Hayden Harvey, Director of Government Relations for Lime. “The new permanent program has been built intentionally to better serve the community with a focus on equity and long-term durability. Lime looks forward to continuing to get Portlanders where they need to go for years to come.”
Sarah Iannarone, executive director of The Street Trust, said shared e-scooters have proven themselves to be a valuable way for people to get around while reducing pollution, carbon emissions and traffic congestion.
"The Street Trust was an early leader in e-scooter safety education and has collaborated over the years with both Lime and Lyft to ensure safety for e-scooter riders and the public," Iannarone said. "Together, we have enhanced safe, equitable access to shared e-scooters as a personal mobility tool that connects people seamlessly to nearby destinations and expands access to public transit for longer trips. We are excited to welcome these providers (back) to Portland and will continue fighting alongside them for increased investments in e-scooter education and complete streets where riders can travel safely and enjoyably."
Momoko Saunders, Vendor Manager for suma, a Portland organization focused on community driven technology solutions that make essential services more affordable for low-income individuals, people of color, and adults with disabilities while protecting their privacy, said partnerships with Lime and Lyft will increase access for Portlanders.
"Suma wants to thank the many community members and grassroots partners who have helped us design, launch and grow the suma platform, a bilingual commerce app that addresses the barriers preventing low-income people and other frontline community members from using their devices to access clean mobility and other essential goods and services. We're excited to be a key part of Portland's clean mobility team and look forward to growing our integration with Lime and to bringing Lyft e-scooters and e-bikes onto the platform."
Starting today: Ride it, Park it, Lock it
This image shows the advertisement planned for display on TriMet buses. Image by PBOT.
Also today, PBOT launched a public education campaign to help Portlanders understand the new rules for riding e-scooters.
"Ride it, Park it, Lock it" will be featured on TriMet buses and benches from August through October and also on social media. PBOT designed the campaign and paid for the ads with revenue from the e-scooter program, which is funded by fees charged to e-scooter companies and riders.
PBOT is requiring e-scooter companies to provide locks on the devices, so the vehicles can be attached to a bike rack or street sign pole. This is intended to reduce the incidence of e-scooters blocking sidewalks and corner ramps, which is critical for accessibility for pedestrians and people with disabilities. Please report a specific incident such as an improperly parked scooter that is not locked to a bike rack or street sign pole, or other issues with Lime or Lyft scooters at portland.gov/Escooter. These issues are submitted to both PBOT and the associated e-scooter companies (Lime and Lyft) for timely resolution.
PBOT has online resources for the public for e-scooter reporting and information
- Learn about the Rules of the road for e-scooters in Portland, including how to Ride it, Park it, Lock it
- Report an issue with an e-scooter, such as improper parking, damage or sidewalk riding. The PDX 311 Customer Service Program is available at 311 or 503-823-4000, or 311@portlandoregon.gov, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, excluding federal holidays.
- For customer service issues, contact the e-scooter companies directly
- Learn more about PBOT's e-scooter program, including background documents on how it started from a pilot to a permanent program
- View or download data on e-scooter and BIKETOWN trip data at the city's Micromobility Dashboard.
E-scooter use in Portland has grown since 2018, reaching a record 1.1 million trips in 2023
This chart shows the annual total e-scooter trips growing since 2018, except during the pandemic in 2020 when all transportation use declined. Annual e-scooter trips in Portland rose to a record 1.1 million in 2023. Image by PBOT.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) first piloted shared e-scooters for four months in 2018. During the pilot, users took around 700,000 trips on 2,000 e-scooters from multiple operators. Data on these rides showed how trips by e-scooter replaced `driving and ride-hailing trips. It drew more people to active transportation as well, with scooter riders preferring to use low-speed streets and bike lanes.
PBOT piloted e-scooters again in April 2019, extending the pilot through the pandemic until summer 2024 when the new permanent program launched. In that time, Portlanders and visitors rented e-scooters over 5.8 million times. PBOT has used this wealth of data to assess whether e-scooters can help reduce congestion and air pollution, and expand access for underserved Portlanders. The public can view and download e-scooter and BIKETOWN trip data by visiting Portland’s Micromobility dashboard.
PBOT searched for long-term operators for its new, permanent E-Scooter Program, issuing a request for proposal in June 2023 and selecting finalists Lime and Lyft in October 2023. Contract negotiations continued through spring 2024. PBOT officially launched the new program today.
About BIKETOWN
BIKETOWN is Portland’s bikeshare system, launched on July 19, 2016, with 1,000 bikes available to ride from one point to another for a small fee. BIKETOWN is now composed of 2,000 electric pedal-assist bicycles serving a 41 square mile service area, including portions of East Portland. BIKETOWN is a partnership between the City of Portland’s Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and Nike, the program’s founding partner and sole title sponsor. BIKETOWN is operated by Lyft, the world’s leading bikeshare operator. Using either the Lyft or BIKETOWN app, riders can easily find, rent, and park a BIKETOWN bike. BIKETOWN is designed to be affordable and accessible, encouraging even more Portlanders to ride and allowing visitors to experience the city by bike. biketownpdx.com
About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc., headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Converse, a wholly-owned NIKE, Inc. subsidiary brand, designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, NIKE, Inc.’s earnings releases and other financial information are available on the Internet at https://investors.nike.com/. Individuals can also visit https://about.nike.com/ and follow NIKE on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
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The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is the steward of the city’s transportation system and a community partner in shaping a livable city. We plan, build, manage, and maintain an effective and safe transportation system that provides access and mobility. Learn more at portland.gov/transportation