Greetings from New York! The city has been waiting… After what seems like an eternity, profitable electric scooters finally arrive.
Today is the day that the battery-powered two-wheelers will finally be allowed on the roads of the largest city in America. Lime, Bird, and Veo received permits to operate scooter-sharing services in the Bronx, the borough above Manhattan.
❗️Shared E-scooters are on the streets in East #Bronx as of today – everyone, please be mindful of traffic rules for everyone’s safety❗️(photos 9am, 8/17/21) pic.twitter.com/YbTdoe5Bh5
— Morris Park Business Improvement District (@Morrisparkbid) August 17, 2021
With their respective apps, each company will offer 1,000 scooters, making a total of 3,000 scooters available throughout the East Bronx. Lime charges $1 to unlock and $0.30 per minute, while Veo charges $0.39 per minute. Bird will offer discounted community pricing for qualified riders, but regular pricing will be like Veo’s. Lime says its scooters can go up to 15 mph, but for first-time scooter riders the first three rides are limited to 10 mph. Veo and Bird scooters will also have a 15-mph speed limit.
Bird said that the Bronx is the 300th location where scooters can be rented. Bird launches a new scooter in NYC, the Bird Three, which has a larger base and wheels for a more stable ride.
Veo offers two scooter types: the traditional e-scooter Astro VS4, with turn signals and bright lights for night riding, and the seated Cosmo, which lets you sit instead of stand.
Lime is starting in New York with its newest Gen4 scooter, which has a broader base, wheels with better suspension, a curved handlebar, and reflective surfaces for better visibility.
It’s the same next-generation scooter that arrived in San Francisco a few weeks ago to replace older vehicles.
While other cities around the world have been flooded with electric devices, New York City has remained the last to offer scooter rentals. Up until state legislation changed in 2019, the city prohibited any motorized micro-vehicles like e-scooters. In April, the city finalized a plan with a phased program for this summer.
As part of the Bronx pilot program, riders cannot take their e-scooters outside the borough and park in designated spots. No-ride and no-parking zones are marked on the maps of the apps. If the pilot is successful, the number of scooters will double to 6,000 next year in a larger area of the Bronx.