The Portland Bureau of Transportation recently released its 2018 E-Scooter Findings Report. The report evaluates Portland’s first e-scooter pilot, which ran from July 23rd to November 30th, 2018, and is informed by usage data, public opinion polls, staff observations, and other sources.
During the four-month pilot period, riders took 700,369 trips covering 801,887 miles on 2,043 e-scooters.
Data shows a clear three-hour evening commute peak, with 19% of all trips occurring between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. Weekend afternoons were also a peak riding time, with 10% of all trips occurring on Saturday and Sunday between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
These e-scooter trips replaced approximately 301,856 vehicle miles of personal car and ride-hailing trips. Thirty-four percent of Portlanders and 48% of tourists and visitors said they would have either driven a personal car or hailed a taxi, Uber, or Lyft had e-scooters not been available.
E-scooters attracted new people to active transportation. 74% of local users reported never riding BIKETOWN and 42% reported never bicycling.
Challenges of the e-scooter pilot program include riding restrictions, as well as issues of safety, parking, and equal access.
PBOT announced a second pilot program that will bring e-scooters back to Portland streets this spring. This pilot will be longer, allowing for more time to test innovative solutions to the challenges that emerged in 2018.
To learn more about the City of Portland's E-Scooter Pilot, visit the program website.
