St. Pete moves forward with electric scooter share program
/St. Pete may finally be getting e-scooters! On August 20th, St. Pete City Council will vote on an agreement which will allow two scooter vendors to participate in a pilot electric scooter share program in downtown St. Pete. E-scooters would be deployed by two companies – Veo and Razor.
Discussion about having e-scooters in downtown St. Pete began in 2018 when scooter sharing was first sweeping the nation. But unlike many cities, St. Pete was in no rush to have e-scooters and waited to see how other cities regulated them before deploying their own program.
Last October, St. Pete City Council approved an ordinance which green lit an e-scooter pilot program and began the vendor application process.
Initially e-scooters were expected to hit the streets in early 2020 but many micro-mobility companies have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 which delayed the roll out in St. Pete.
Despite this, Veo and Razor are expected to deploy about 225 scooters each, or 450 total. If it’s successful, and depending on demand, we could see that number increase to 750 each.
Veo, a micro-mobility company based out of Chicago, is expected to bring their stand up scooter model to St. Pete. These scooters are traditional kick start e-scooters which will have speeds of 15 mph and a range of about 20 miles. The company operates in over 16 cities across the country.
“Kudos to the city leaders of St. Petersburg for doing an incredible job in their due diligence process of selecting a micro-mobility partner who is a great fit for the area’s residents and riders in terms of safety and operational excellence,” says Candice Xie, CEO of Veo. “We are eager to move forward, and to have the opportunity to serve the community with the safest e-scooters in the industry soon.”
Razor, the company behind the Razor scooters from your childhood, is expected to bring a new sit down e-scooter concept to St. Pete. Like stand up e-scooters, the Razor seated scooter will go 15 mph with a range of 20 miles but will feature a comfortable seat along with oversized tires for a smoother ride.
To make the scooter more practical it will also features a small basket and brake lights. Seated e-scooters have larger frames than their stand up counterparts which offers riders a safer and more comfortable ride for longer trips. The company currently operates in 14 markets across the country including in Orlando.
E-scooter corrals are expected to be deployed around the downtown area. Many of these locations have already been identified.
Both e-scooters will cost $1 to start and then about $0.30 per minute.
If you’re concerned about safety - don’t worry. St. Pete has put a number of restrictions on the e-scooters based on observations from scooter share programs in other cities.
For example, e-scooters will not be allowed on the sidewalks and they’ll be limited to streets with a speed limit of 30 mph or less. While e-scoters will generally be allowed in bike lanes and on trails, they’ll be prohibited from the city’s waterfront trail which is generally crowded. They will also be prohibited on the pier.
Additionally, riders will be required to park the e-scooters in designated areas which will be managed by the city to ensure they don’t clutter sidewalks. The city is expected to design and deploy scooter corrals across the downtown area.
St. Pete City Councilwoman Gina Driscoll recently make a trip to Tampa to test our their e-scooters.
E-scooters are have already been in Tampa for over a year and many of us in the ‘Burg have been anxiously awaiting them. Personally, I’m very excited to hop on a scooter and zip around downtown St. Pete.
And I’m not the only one! E-scooters have even picked up a fan among St. Pete’s City Council.
“Recently I tested the e-scooter program in Tampa, and I was surprised at how stable and easy they are to ride,” says City Councilwoman Gina Driscoll, “I'm thrilled to be launching e-scooter rentals in St. Pete and offering another fun and easy way to get around without a car."
Driscoll and the rest of City Council are expected to vote on agreements with Veo and Razor on August 20th. If approved, e-scooters would likely be deployed in late September or early October.
More information about St. Pete’s e-scooter share program can be found on the August 20th City Council agenda.
