A couple months ago, the Raleigh area awoke to a major surprise in the downtown streets. A bunch of new, not lime-colored electric scooters appeared out of thin air on street corners, and city officials were not ecstatic about them. Arguments were had, the idea of a temporary ban like the one in Asheville was thrown around, but ultimately the scooters were given the green light.
Now jump to this week, with Bird being forced to raise ride prices by $2 to compensate for an annual $300-per-scooter fee, an imposed limit of 500 scooters that the company can deploy in the city, and specific allowed times and locations for rides.
Mayor Nancy McFarlane told City Council that Bird’s ride price raise has nothing to do with their newly-implemented fees and that it is a “business profit-making decision” on their part. That’s a pretty unfair assessment, however, when you consider that these fees are some of the highest ever seen for scooter companies across the country. She tried to point at Indianapolis’ massive licensing fee as justification for the fees, but Raleigh should aim to lead the pack, not follow it.
Per Raleigh’s own Transportation Director Michael Moore, most cities charge at most $100 per scooter, with $130 as the extreme. No one wins anything in our current scenario. Bird, Lime and the other companies struggle to gain a foothold in the local area, and Raleigh jeopardizes an entire industry presence in the city for no reason.
Another fear of mine – besides the basic one of electric scooters never finding stable footing in Raleigh – is the possibility of an accidental monopolization by one company or another. At the time of writing this column, Lime, who has already had plenty of their own bikes and scooters, has not yet announced a price hike. While they are still affected by the same fees and restrictions, their existing presence in the area might hinder healthy competition.
I understand that they’re new and complex, but overall, scooters are a positive thing for the area. They’re convenient, they’re trendy and they’re affordable, when they’re actually allowed to be. The arguments for how safe they truly are in the hands of the average American don’t go unheard. They’re still vehicles, and I do strongly urge that users follow the proper rules and regulations needed to limit any mishaps. Unnecessary fees, however, my wallet and I can do without.
As I stated in a previous column, Bird did make a misstep in its implementation through a supposed lack of communication with city officials. But despite some past errors, electric scooters should still get a chance in the Research Triangle. It’s clear there are some problems on both ends of this relationship, but one olive branch from either side could bring this whole pointless fight to a close.
I hope that Raleigh reverses its decision, and soon. I want both Bird and Lime to get an equal shot at taking over the downtown streets, and I want the competition that comes out of it to be a boon to the city. Electric scooters bring a cheap, modern form of transportation for the area, and right now, Raleigh is sending a message that this industry is not welcome to town.
A version of this article appeared in print on Jan. 17, 2019, on page 6 with the headline “Raleigh shouldn’t needlessly kill their electric scooters”.
