City of Austin provides updates its made regarding e-scooters

AUSTIN, Texas - The City of Austin provided an update on changes it made regarding electric scooter usage in the city. They said after six months, there have been some promising results.

Although results seem to be positive, a local attorney said these scooters are a serious public health problem.

"I have almost been hit a couple of times," Austin resident Tina Rettig said.

The City of Austin said they have implemented some regulations to help make e-scooters safer.

The number of vendors allowed to operate in Austin has been limited to just two. The city said it has made coordination with them more efficient.

The number of permitted e-scooters citywide has been decreased by 2,000, from 8,700 to 6,700. Statistics show the demand is still being met, as ridership has decreased, and now there is less clutter on downtown sidewalks.

The city plans to reduce the maximum speed e-scooters can go from 15 miles per hour to 10 miles per hour in the main entertainment districts. That is still in the works as the city said it may actually be more dangerous to have a sudden slowdown for riders on roadways with cars and bicycles.

Having others around them is something Rettig said e-scooter riders need to be aware of.

"I think too many people think that they can just go, and they don't. It's a motorized vehicle, they need to pay attention to the rules of the road," Rettig said.

Personal Injury Attorney Adam Loewy said e-scooters are very dangerous.

"I've handled numerous cases involving catastrophic injuries, catastrophic brain injuries, broken bones, broken legs. And several times actual deaths from scooter crashes," Loewy said.

In a statement, the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department spokesperson said:

"The Austin Transportation and Public Works Department (TPW) continues to evaluate the changes made in April 2024 to the Shared Micromobility Program. Preliminary results have given some promising results, but more analysis is needed to provide information on successful outcomes. TPW is committed to learning more and making necessary changes to the Shared Micromobility Program to help improve the overall safety of micromobility use in the city. TPW plans to host a public open house in early 2025 to provide information on the Shared Micromobility Program and to collect feedback from the public about concerns and needs for future changes to the program."

"I think no matter what the government does, you often have people who are using these at night, who are often inebriated, who are often cutting in and out of traffic and are driving or scooting in the downtown area where there are a bunch of cars, a bunch of buses, people are not paying attention, it's often a chaotic scene, so if people are going to get on these scooters, they're taking a very big risk," Loewy said.

Transportation and Public Works said the public will have multiple opportunities to provide their input on regulations in the coming months. The TPW staff will present another update in April 2025.