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The sidewalks of Nashville are fighting a war for space against the invasive yet beneficial commercial scooters. Legislation against scooter companies continues to be an evolving issue amongst Nashville judges and councils. Issues that people are concerned with the include user age identification, sidewalk riding, sidewalk parking, and so on. Over the last few years, scooter companies have fought hard to dominate the emerging market and expand across as many cities as possible but their battle is far from over.
Currently, only three companies are allowed to put out and make business off scooters in Nashville due to a ruling in 2018. These three companies are Bird, Lime, and Spin. However, Bird faced legal disputes in 2018 with the city, seizing over 400+ scooters due to several accidents and disciplinary. Currently, these companies are held to many legal regulations, including that riders are required to prove themselves as 18+ via photo ID and scooters are not allowed to be ridden on sidewalks within commercial business districts. In addition, these scooters are prohibited, as a Vanderbilt student may well know, from being driven on college campuses due to university concerns of liabilities for any scooter misuse.
Despite each company being limited to only 500 scooters in addition to e-bikes, city folk still consider the scooters as a clutter on streets. There is an ongoing effort to keep scooters parked in organized corrals around the city. Instead of simply being required to be left standing on sidewalks. Scooters are also prohibited from being parked within bus stops, curb ramps, driveways, and loading zones. Across the city, many people who rely on these scooters for transportation are aggravated by these potential changes as they would reduce the accessibility of scooters and could lead to difficulty finding one close by.
Scooters are especially vital for people lacking other forms of personal transportation like automobiles and motorcycles. For this reason, a large demographic that scooters appeal to is young people especially college students.
Since arriving at Vanderbilt, I know that, along with many other students, I have also been reliant on scooter/e-bikes to transport. Scooter companies provide an easy, reliable, and economically friendly solution in many cases. For trips that are relatively close, but also far enough to steal a valuable amount of time by walking, scooters are the perfect option for a cheap and quick passage. Going to the grocery store, getting something to eat, or coming back from the gym are all reliable examples where I have used scooters to avoid losing precious time in my day. Although legislation involved with scooter companies is important and justifiably demanded, this could reduce the convenience, efficiency, and agency of scooters as a method of transport.
Although, scooters strive to provide an organized public space and propel alternative methods of transport, they also inadvertently cause public inconveniences.
Fundamentally, the regulations on scooters and their continued availability moving forward resides in the hands of the riders. If people respect the rules and bylaws of these scooter companies, as the city is compelling them to do, then it is ultimately possible for scooters to be a long-term transportation method.
