Scooters Getting Put Away On Friday, But Likely Not For Good

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Twin Cities residents only have three days left to enjoy the metro area's newest mode of transportation. Electric scooters will be gone as of Friday night.

The scooters have been available for rent in Minneapolis and St. Paul for the past four months. Now the pilot program is coming to an end.

Lime is one of the companies that's been offering scooters, Bird is the other.

It was only 20 degrees in Minneapolis Tuesday afternoon, but Target employee Ross Anderson was full steam ahead on his electric scooter.

"It's terrible on the hands but it's like a tradeoff," Anderson said. "Do you walk for longer in the cold or do you get even colder and ride for a shorter amount of time?"

Despite the cold, Anderson has been opting for what he calls the hottest transportation in town.

"It feels like you are skateboarding or something but you don't have to know how to skateboard so you can just hold on and enjoy it," Anderson said.

He was one of the masses to hop on electric scooters in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Now the ride is coming to a halt, the four-month pilot program ends Friday in time for winter. Minneapolis officials say it went well. Josh Johnson, the mobility manager at the City of Minneapolis, said there were some surprises.

"It's not just, 'I'm going to take a joy ride.' People are using them to commute, to get to and from meetings, to and from lunch, using them as an alternative to cars," he said.

Johnson says they'll use the data from the past four months to improve the program.

"One issue the city is looking at is the safety for the safety of the people riding them and the safety of the people who stumble upon them."

Johnson says people can call 311 when they see the scooters in the way of people's paths, a program he says is working.

He says there have been a handful of accident reports but no serious injuries.

Over in St. Paul, city leaders say their program went well, too. Both cities say they will likely welcome the scooters back so Minnesotans can roll forward.

"They came in the late summer," Anderson said. "I'd like a full summer with them."

Next year, Minneapolis and St. Paul officials hope to find a way to better educate riders on the rules.