AL: Mobile to add seated scooters, e‑bikes and stricter rules for Lime riders

Electric scooters have been part of downtown Mobile for eight years, and many of the early concerns about their use remain.

Among those concerns:

• Teenagers riding along Dauphin Street
• Scooters on sidewalks
• Devices left in piles outside churches and businesses

Despite those issues, Mobile is moving forward with a new three-year contract with Neutron Holdings Inc., operator of Lime, the city’s e-scooter provider since May 2023. The agreement, expected to be approved Tuesday by the Mobile City Council, includes two optional one-year renewals.

The city plans to expand Lime’s presence and integrate the system into Mobile’s evolving public transit network, which has become one of Mayor Spiro Cherigotis’ early priorities.

“This gives us the opportunity to take what we have built over the last three years and grow everything in a more meaningful and positive way so the Lime experience in Mobile is mostly positive,” said Jacob Laurence, deputy director of administrative services. “We want it to be 100 percent positive, of course, but we recognize every system we build in has potential issues we have to address.”

Laurence said a new e-bike system will be incorporated into the public transit overhaul launching next month. The city currently has about 550 e-scooters downtown, a number that will remain steady under the new contract. An additional 15 to 30 seated scooters will be added at bus stops, and e bikes will be placed in city parks later this year.

The seated scooters are expected to arrive within 30 days, coinciding with the rollout of Mobile’s new transit operation administered by New York based Via Transportation. The system will replace the Wave bus network and introduce on demand microtransit through a mobile app set to launch in July. The new system was branded as Second Line Transit in April.

“The mayor’s enthusiasm toward public transit permeates into so many conversations including Lime,” Laurence said. “We need to transform the identity of Lime not only as recreational, but also transit. The sky is the limit on where we want to go.”

Laurence said Lime is supplying additional fleet to World Cup host cities, which may delay Mobile’s e-bike deployment until fall.

Some changes are already visible downtown. After Mardi Gras, Lime reduced maximum scooter speeds from 12 mph to 8 mph. Within 30 days, the city will also implement a virtual corralling system requiring riders to park scooters in designated zones before ending their trip.

“We will be establishing areas throughout the operation zone taped off with bright green tape with the Lime logo so people understand this is an area they can pick up or drop off a scooter,” Laurence said.

The operation zone will expand from downtown Mobile into Midtown and into Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, where a federally funded $11.3 million overhaul is underway.

Fred Rendfrey, president and CEO of the Downtown Mobile Alliance, said his organization continues to hear complaints about scooters being “haphazardly scattered about,” including outside churches on Sunday mornings.

“We’ve worked with Lime and the City to expand the digital corral presence,” Rendfrey said. “We’ve worked to expand the speed zones where you can reduce cruising. But there are still complaints about scooters being thrown around haphazardly and riders using them on sidewalks and juveniles using them.”

Rendfrey said the Alliance supports additional mobility options, including seated devices, but believes the city must address recurring issues, especially during large events like Mardi Gras.

Mobile police, in a statement to AL.com, stressed the importance of proper use of scooters during periods in which “there are more pedestrians and vehicles.”

“We want visitors and locals to enjoy our downtown community while operating scooters in a responsible manner,” the department’s statement says. “We believe lower speeds and other measures being considered will improve overall safety for riders, pedestrians, and drivers who navigate our streets.”

Laurence acknowledged that Mardi Gras is a “very tricky time,” with hundreds of thousands of people downtown and scooters adding to the congestion. One option, he said, is slowing devices even further along parade routes.

“The Lime technology, behind the scenes, is pretty advanced,” Laurence said. “They can draw out a clearly defined area, and if you’re in this area, you will only be able to go at an established speed and you can only drive off so far before there is a disengagement.”

The franchise agreement is expected to generate additional revenues for the city, approximately $18,000 to $20,000 annually. The city also receives $5,000 each year in a franchise fee. With a fleet expansion, Laurence expects even more annual revenue.

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