Among the many complaints sent to DDOT about dockless bikes and electric scooters, one of the most frequent concerned the quantity of scooters blocking sidewalks. "Sidewalk(s)" were mentioned 590 times from 2016 to 2019.
From 2018 to 2019, electric scooter uses reported 181 accidents. 36% of those accidents were reported to have occured in a traffic lane, compared to 8% in bike lanes and sidewalks, and 48% in unspecified areas.
66 electric scooter accidents from 2018 to 2019 occured in travel lanes. Some riders reported issues with accelerating and decelerating when trying to cross the street or avoid vehicles, leading to falls and potential injuries.
Many complaints to DDOT involved questions of electric scooters and riders in the bike lanes. Some locals are concerned over scooter riders going at fast speeds on the sidewalks, and expressed a desire for them to be restricted to bike lanes. Others question whether scooters should be in bike lanes at all, as many riders have no prior experience on scooters and lack protective gear like helmets.
Electric scooters came to DC via a pilot program that lasted from Spring of 2018 to the end of 2018. There are currently 8 e-scooter companies in operation in DC: Bird, Bolt, Jump, Lime, Lyft, Razor, Skip, and Spin. There are 5,235 electric scooters in DC in total as of October 2019.