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Dockless scooters to return to Milwaukee by August following council approval

Bird Electric Scooters
Posted at 6:50 AM, Jun 21, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-21 16:28:53-04

MILWAUKEE — UPDATE: The Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday approved a proposal to allow a third dockless scooter pilot study.

The study will start no earlier than July 1, 2022 and end on Dec. 31, 2023. If the council approves a permanent program before then, the pilot study will end, according to a statement on Tuesday from the city.

The council unanimously approved the study and it is expected to be signed off by Mayor Cavalier Johnson. They expect scooters to return to city streets by early August.

Read the city's announcement below:

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PREVIOUS REPORT:

Dockless scooters could be back in Milwaukee by early August, according to a proposal for the pilot program.

The three companies allowed to operate scooters in the city - Bird, Lime and Spin - counted 481,706 trips from June through mid-November last year, according to our partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal. Milwaukee Common Council members are set to consider a proposal on Tuesday to select three scooter operators for this summer. The agreement would last until the end of 2023.

While the scooters have been popular downtown, the city's pilot program revealed some concerns, especially when people drove the scooters along sidewalks. A survey found that 30 percent of scooter drivers were illegally driving on the sidewalk.

With rising driving on sidewalks, last year the city prevented drivers from starting their trip on their scooter in the downtown area. Monthly scooter ridership then fell by more than 50 percent due to the limitation, the BizJournal reports.

The proposal calls for 'digital geofences' that would stop scooters if they went onto the sidewalk.

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