At the end of March, three electric scooter companies deposited over 2,000 scooters onto San Francisco streets. While scooters represent a good alternative to private cars or Uber or Lyft to some, to others they are an under-regulated nuisance that will negatively impact our streets and sidewalks and detract from public transportation.
What is certain is that scooters have sparked a conversation in our city around various modes of personal transportation, such as electric bikes, electric skateboards, hoverboards, and others. Their numbers are increasing, and they seem quintessentially "Bay Area" in some respects - melding technology, innovative ideas, environmental concerns, a belief in individual agency, and a desire to reduce congestion.
Are city official and the scooter companies in agreement about sensible regulations?
Do scooters and other new modes of urban personal mobility solve more problems than they create?
Producer: Wendy Holcombe
Guests:
Cheryl Brinkman - Chairman of the Board of Directors, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, or SFMTA.
Susan Shaheen, Ph.D. - Co-Director of the UC Berkeley Transportation and Sustainability Research Center and Director of Innovative Mobility Research.
Jessica Lehman - Executive Director, Senior & Disability Action.