More people are using electric scooters and e-bikes for faster and more eco-friendly transportation. Last year, there were over 3.7 million rides taken using city-sanctioned scooters from Divvy, Lime and Spin, according to city data. However, the rising number of injuries are causing concern.
Sebastian Roszkowski, a DePaul senior, uses his own scooter daily. He says that using it helps him get around quicker but recognizes how dangerous it can be.
“Scooters are very reliable but not very safe,” Roszkowski said. “There’s been times when an Uber driver didn’t see me and has almost hit me while I’ve been riding.”
Chicago has had scooters in the city since 2019, with two pilot programs that introduced them for public use. In the 2020 e-scooter pilot, about 10,000 total scooters were deployed by three companies: Bird, Lime and Spin. Since then, the number of scooters has dropped to only 4,000 split between Lime and Spin.
Erica Schroeder is the director of public information at the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), and based on their analysis, riding a scooter is as safe as riding a bike in Chicago.
But that doesn’t mean they’re always safe — and researchers have found that growing usage of both e-bikes and e-scooters has only led to more injuries.
Bike, scooter and e-bike accidents have increased over the past couple of years.
According to a study by JAMA Network, the number of e-bike injuries nationwide increased from 751 to 23,493 from 2017 to 2022. E-scooter accidents increased from 8,566 to 56,847 in that same time.
Divvy, the premiere bike-sharing service that launched on June 28, 2013, was expanded in March 2019 when Lyft bought into it to expand the service while still giving the city revenue.
Users that already have the Lyft app set up with their form of payment can easily ride a Divvy bike by going up to one of the many parking kiosks located around the city, scanning the QR code attached to an individual bike and unlocking it.
Even on Divvy’s website, the tagline “It’s so easy” is said with no mention of a quiz or safety: just unlock it, ride it, and park it.
Kate Bondurant, a spokesperson for Lyft, is aware of the safety concerns.
“We actively promote the rules of the road to our bike and scooter riders through our in-app safe riding tutorial, which reminds riders to ride in bike lanes where available and to follow local traffic laws,” Bondurant said.
Roszkowski, the DePaul senior, who is Polish, has some ideas that could transfer over to the United States. In Poland, people need licenses to own and ride bikes, implying a greater understanding of road laws and safety.
“You don’t want to restrict people’s freedoms, but you also don’t want to see them get injured or killed on the road,” Roszkowski said.
However, compared with a driver’s test for a car, which emphasizes the ideas of traffic laws and the fundamentals of being behind the wheel, a biking test like Divvy’s is minimal.
Like most places in the United States, wearing a helmet while using e-bikes, scooters and bikes is not a law in Chicago. There are guidelines on the websites for Divvy, Lime, Spin and even CDOT. Divvy, for instance, offers a “Scooter 101” tutorial online for those who go out of their way to access it.
According to the American College of Surgeons, 35% of all e-bike-related trauma happens to users under the age of 18. In addition, e-bike riders are more likely to sustain fatal injuries when colliding with a motor vehicle.
John McTaggart is originally from New Jersey but has moved to Chicago recently. His main form of transportation is his car and he has experienced people using scooters as a driver in both New Jersey and Illinois.
“One thing that bothers me about people on scooters in Chicago is a lot of the time they’ll take them on the sidewalk,” McTaggart said.
The law that e-bikes and scooters must be used on the road or bike path is intended to keep traffic laws balanced and to uphold the safety of pedestrians. The Chicago Complete Streets program aims to make the roadways of the city as inclusive and safe as possible, taking into account bike, scooter, pedestrian and driver safety.
“Last year CDOT installed more than 50 miles of bikeway projects, including 27 miles of new and upgraded protected lanes and 18 miles of new neighborhood greenways,” Schroeder, director of CDOT public information, said.
McTaggart and Roszkowski both agree that the responsibility for safety does not fall on one party. They said there should be a greater push to make people wear helmets but also stricter laws and standards for drivers.
“Driver’s licenses are being given out like candy and people need to have refreshers so that they understand the road is being shared,” Roszkowski said.
Related Stories:
- Lyft follows Uber with new pilot program to increase safety for drivers
- Chicago’s South Side serving freshly-squeezed LimeBikes
Stay informed with The DePaulia’s top stories,
delivered to your inbox every Monday.