Can a new kickstand help curb the e-scooter domino effect?

E-scooters first arrived in the Washington region back in 2018, and they really knew how to make an entrance.

Transit advocates touted the potential for scooters and bikes to get more people out of cars, and ease congestion. The scooters’ strength was in tackling the “First Mile, Last Mile” challenge, referring to the distance between a commuter’s starting or ending point and their main transit option.

According to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) over five million trips were taken by scooters in 2019 alone. Six companies — Bird, Lime, Lyft, Razor, Skip, and Spin — operate e-scooters in the District. There were about 10,660 dockless vehicles permitted in DC through 2021.

But like any newly popular technology, scooters have had their problems and detractors. Complaints have piled up about riders clashing with pedestrians and abandoned, tipped over scooters on sidewalks. And when they’re all lined up in a row, if one falls, they all go down with it like a set of dominoes.

The sidewalk clutter isn’t just an aesthetic concern. Some disability advocates have taken to courts, arguing scooters can block sidewalk access for people with disabilities.

Now one particular problem — the propensity of scooters to tip — might have a design solution. Mobility company Lime announced last week it is changing up the kickstand on its latest generation of electric scooters. Will it tip the scale in the number of fallen scooters and blocked streets in DC?

“The Gen 4 [e-scooter] was specifically designed to prevent tipping over, a problem we’ve been working with the city on for a while,” said Robert Gardner, Senior Government Relations Director at Lime. “It has a dual-sided kickstand, a lower center of gravity that will help keep it upright and parked properly, improving the micro mobility experience for everyone in DC.”

The new models are set to debut in September, and will replace the entire DC fleet of 3,500 scooters.

Lime is not the only company using design to address tipping scooters. In June Spin also updated their scooters with a dual-legged kickstand. Bird recently launched a messaging campaign with signage at the bottom of scooters that say “Please help me up.” The sign is meant to “discourage behavior that may lead to tipped scooters,” according to a press release. Bird introduced an anti-tip center kickstand in 2019.

Over the past few years, the District has taken a number of steps to increase safety around scooters and other mobility vehicles.

In February 2020 DDOT began adding bike and scooter parking corrals in all wards throughout the District. In October that year, the DC Council passed legislation updating rules requiring that mobility companies install lock to mechanism for scooters, requiring devices to be locked to a pole or a rack when parked. This portion of the law is supposed to go into effect October 1 this year.

The Council’s legislation also:

• Requires the DDOT director to construct at least 1,000 racks a year until 2025 for parking of electric mobility devices;

• Prohibits DDOT from permitting more than 20,000 electric mobility devices before October 1, 2023;

• Prohibits mobility device users from riding on sidewalks within the Central Business District;

• And requires devices to be parked in an upright position.

Of course, parking a scooter upright doesn’t mean it will stay that way. This could be where Lime’s updated kickstand could do the most good, though until it’s road-tested, it’s still too early to tell.