Electric Scooters: Back [and] to the Future
For those that even recall a time before Coronavirus, let’s take a trip down memory lane. Remember when the streets (and sidewalks) of Atlanta used to be flooded with all types of dockless mobility devices, especially scooters? Then suddenly, as if overnight, they disappeared. Apparently scooters were deemed nonessential by Atlanta officials and all services were to be shut down in March 2020.
Now, scooters are back – with a vengeance. At the start of July, the Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT) launched the first phase of the City of Atlanta’s 2020 Shareable Dockless Mobility Devices Program, which will roll out in four phases over the next several weeks.
Phase one has already begun, which includes a limited deployment of small fleet sizes from four permit-approved companies: Bird, Helbiz, Spin and VeoRide. As the phases get implemented, fleet deployments will increase in size, with the final phase adjusting the total count based on operations and public health needs.
But will this influx of scooters cause sidewalks to be a dumping ground for abandoned scooters once again? Well, thanks to a partnership with micromobility startups Go X and Tortoise, this issue could eventually be resolved. Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, an innovation center created by the City of Peachtree Corners, has launched one of the world’s first fleet of teleoperated e-scooters ready for public use. As part of the initial phase, these 100 scooters (that are controlled completely remotely!) will be made available for use to the 8,000 employees working within the 500-acre Atlanta Tech Park.
Betsy Plattenburg, executive director at Curiosity Lab, said “the teleoperated technology will allow scooters to come to patrons who are looking for them, return to a docking station after each use and go through a sanitation process after each use — an essential step during Covid-19.”
This means, instead of littering the sidewalks with scooters not in use, these teleoperated scooters will return, on their own, to a predetermined docking station. Both convenience and non-clutter were major factors in this initiative, with the end goal of shifting from teleoperated tech to entirely autonomous in the future.
DID YOU KNOW?
The micromobility industry has a near-term estimation of $800 billion in revenue.
Are you excited scooters are back? Let us know in the comments below.