Lime is one of the companies that provides electric scooters in West Hollywood’s dockless mobility pilot program. (photo by Rance Collins)

Following a long discussion, the West Hollywood City Council voted 3-2 to maintain the dockless micro-mobility program for now. The pilot program, which was launched in July 2021, is set to expire on Oct. 31. The program offers electric bikes and scooters that are available to the public to use for transportation. Effective immediately, the council directed that the scooter companies limit devices to 10 mph.

According to the motion approved by council, if the electric bike and scooter companies, currently Lime and Bird, do not agree to the stipulations and maintenance fees required by the city, then the company’s contracts with the city will end and the city will bring on other vendors.

In March, the City Council directed staff to conduct a survey of West Hollywood residents asking if the city should implement a permanent micro-mobility program. That survey remains open for residents at bit.ly/micromobilityweho or at (323)848-6401 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

“I was pleased to join my colleagues in supporting an extension of the pilot program for Dockless Mobility devices in West Hollywood,” Mayor Sepi Shyne said. “That said, I think there’s still work to be done and we need to know more about how residents feel from a data survey, and we need dockless mobility partners to be good citizens with us.”

Councilwoman Lauren Meister and Councilman John Heilman were not in favor of maintaining the pilot program, citing safety concerns from the public.

“We have a pilot that lasted two years,” Meister said. “This program has not lived up to the hype. In the beginning, we were told that these companies would take responsibility for their ebikes and escooters, picking them up, all of that, getting them up off the street. They did not. We were told that the program would not cost the city, which is one reason we ended the city’s ebike program. We found it did cost the city, in fact it costed the city $145,000 a year, plus staff time, plus facilities, for the ebikes and scooters that we have to pick up.”

“I do acknowledge that there are some benefits to the program,” Heilman said. “But they also have created a significant safety problem for our community. We have riders who irresponsibly ride on the sidewalks.”

Mayor Pro Tempore John Erickson voted in favor of the program, saying that data supported its continuation.

“Since July 2021, more than 449,730 trips have occurred on scooters in the city of West Hollywood,” Erickson said. “That’s a staggering number of users who enjoy and utilize this mode of micro-mobility to get to and from various locations that don’t involve a car.”

“It’s hard to have a conversation about the threats in our community from a transportation and mobility standpoint, when we’re not taking seriously the threats about cars and vehicles, and how these scooters are meant to mitigate some of that concern,” Councilwoman Chelsea Byers said. “We’re just on a spectrum of figuring out the best way to make each of these mobility options safe for people, but to throw this one out completely is also not an option I’m interested in.”

Erickson also pointed out that the complaints were largely from the same people.

“The simple truth is that 60% of the total complaints (1,452) came from three individuals totaling 865. The number of people complaining versus the number of people using simply doesn’t add up,” he said.

Two-thirds of complaints involve concerns over devices blocking the sidewalks.

“I’ve almost been hit by a speeding scooter on the street,” Murray Aronson said. “I have friends who are much [more mobility disabled], and if any of them got hit by one it could be curtains for them.”

“Only a few people complained about scooters? Piffle!” resident Mikie Friedman said. “My own little petition had 545 residents that wanted them banned, and I believe an honest survey will show a lot more.”

“I just love my ebike,” resident Brad Keistler said. “I’ve got 2,000 miles on it. I’m 80 years old. It’s the way to get around. I think it’s really sad for people who don’t know the joy and the efficiency of the bicycle.”

Of the two dockless mobility companies that have devices in West Hollywood, Lime makes up the majority of the trips. Staff also found that the plurality of trips are taken between internal destinations within West Hollywood. Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards are the streets most frequently traveled by riders, with the city’s Rainbow District area the most popular.

Michael Covato, director of government partnerships for Bird, pointed out the benefits of electric transportation devices.

“Shared mobility reduces traffic congestion, improves air quality … significantly reduces the cost of road repairs, enables equitable transportation for those that might be disadvantaged and stimulates local businesses,” Covato said.

Some residents took issue with the dockless mobility companies.

“The city of West Hollywood and the citizens here were given a big middle finger by both Bird and Lime when they first came into this city … and just dumped all their products on the city streets without going through the licensing process, without talking to anybody, without talking to any of the city officials, without getting the business licensing that any other business in the city [would need],” resident Rick Watts said.

“Scooters are still aggressively riding on the sidewalks and being dumped on sidewalks,” resident Manny Rodriguez said. “All this continues to happen because the on-demand scooter companies have no interest in any accountability by them or their users.”

“As far as I am concerned, council majority made a mistake continuing the pilot program,” Meister said. “The pilot program was just that – a pilot – and the pilot ran its course. It should have ended, then a full assessment should have been conducted. Could we get better partners and a better deal for the city? Could we require more insurance than the new state law requires? Could infrastructure be improved upon to prevent devices from being left in the public right-of-way? The data showed that one-third of the rides were ‘internal,’ that is, within the city – so, it begs the question, are there other transit opportunities that were not considered – like expanding the city’s shuttle or Cityline? One-in-seven trips were pass-through trips — those trips don’t benefit our businesses or our residents. The rush to make a decision precluded a full analysis of the situation and, unfortunately, the delay in a survey among residents precluded a scientific analysis of residents’ opinions.”

Erickson said that the answers to the problems involve improving infrastructure in the city, not ending the program entirely.

“What I was hearing from residents on both sides of the argument is that the city lacks the needed infrastructure to have individuals safely ride scooters or bikes and that is due to a historic lack of investment in making our streets safer for all and that is something I have been dedicated to since getting on the council,” Erickson said. “I’m glad that the council majority did just that and listened to the facts and data presented to us while trying to get a better deal on public safety and residuals back for the city of West Hollywood.”