Electric Scooter Sharing Coming to Seattle

In a guest post published on GeekWire, Seattle’s Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the city will be working toward allowing electric scooter rentals to operate within the city.1 Currently, Seattle electric scooter laws are harsh – scooter shares are banned and motorized foot scooters are not allowed on sidewalks and bicycle lanes. Durkan’s administration aims to change that by rolling out a pilot program.

With the creation of this pilot program, Durkan hopes to gradually introduce scooter shares into the city while ensuring strict requirements on parking, speed, safety, and other issues many other cities have run into concerning their fleets of electrical scooter rentals.

We can get this right. We will focus on four non-negotiable principles: safety, fairness to riders, protection of taxpayers through full indemnification, and equity. While some companies may see these requirements as too restrictive, they are too important not to fight for. – Jenny Durkan, Mayor of Seattle1

This Shift in Seattle Electric Scooter Laws is a Long Time Coming

 

We invest in high-capacity transit – buses and light rail.  We have invested in density and better transit. We’ve also taken other steps to reduce our reliance on cars like free transit passes for high school students, so more people are taking transit, biking, and walking. – Jenny Durkan, Mayor of Seattle1

One of the first cities to fully embrace dockless bike shares, it is a little strange that Seattle is one of the last major cities in the U.S. to hold out on the incredibly popular trend of electric scooter rentals.2 Fortunately, with Durkan’s announcement, that will change soon as Seattle electric scooter laws become more friendly to scooter sharing companies and apps.

While the proposed pilot program will start rolling out in May and June, the city won’t be accepting permit applications until September or October with approval likely to be given at the start of 2020. So, you won’t be able to take Seattle electrical scooter rentals out for a spin until January 1st next year.

Regardless, the Mayors announcement is a step in the right direction towards giving residents and visitors access to a greater variety of convenient public transportation options. With the city gradually rolling out Seattle scooter shares all while focusing on safety, fairness, and equity – Seattle may soon have one of the best e-scooter share programs in the nation.

 

Established Moving & Storage is a full-service moving company in Seattle. Our local and long-distance movers offer relocation services throughout the Seattle Metropolitan Area and beyond. You can expect only the best in moving, packing, and storage from our Seattle movers, Everett movers, Renton movers, Bellevue movers, Marysville movers, and Tukwila movers. Call 888-648-1886 for a free quote!

 

Sources

  1. Jenny Durkan, GeekWire – Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan: Let’s try scooters, but let’s do it right
  2. David Gutman, The Seattle Times – Seattle embraced dockless bike shares, but bans scooter ones. How come?
Established Moving & Storage

Established Moving & Storage of South Florida Inc.

1690 S. Congress Avenue Suite 107

Delray Beach, FL 33445

USDOT#3918022

FL IM#2932

Office: 954.686.3388

Toll free: 888.648.1886

Established Moving & Storage of Seattle

565 Andover Park W. #100

Tukwila, WA 98188

USDOT#4006516

MC-1507280

THG067984

Office: 206.620.1700

Established Moving & Storage

Established Moving Seattle

Established Moving & Storage of Seattle Inc.
565 ANDOVER PARK W SUITE 100
TUKWILA,
WA 98188
DOT# 3064331
WUTC# THG067984

Established Moving Everett

Established Moving & Storage of Everett Inc.
607 SE EVERETT MALL WAY SUITE 6BB
EVERETT, WA 98208
WUTC# THG068395

Established Moving Boca Raton

Established Moving & Storage of South Florida Inc.
1690 S. Congress Avenue Suite 107
Delray Beach, FL 33445

Established Moving Jacksonville

Established Moving & Storage of Jacksonville Inc.
8286 Western Way Circle, Unit #3-D
Jacksonville, FL 32256

 

Call Us 855-265-9813