Life of the Dockless: E-Scooter Parking in San José

Shared e-scooters have grabbed the attention of the media, the public, and city officials. Heralded by some as a potential solution to first and last-mile travel needs, the scooters are loathed by others for their perceived haphazard usage and abandonment on city sidewalks. For the latest research perspective by the Mineta Transportation Institute, Where do Riders Park Dockless, Shared Electric Scooters? Findings from San José, California, researchers observed e-scooters parked in San José and analyzed the extent to which the devices posed a problem to other road uses.

Of the 530 e-scooters MTI researchers observed and photographed in downtown San José, 97% were well-parked. They were standing upright, placed on the edge of pedestrian paths or already obstructed areas, and not blocking pedestrian access.  

MTI researchers concluded that fewer than 2% of e-scooters blocked access for the disabled as most scooters were parked out of the way of pedestrian traffic on the edge of sidewalks or in areas already obstructed with objects such as benches, newspaper boxes, and trash cans, suggesting that perhaps e-scooter parking regulations may not need to be particularly strict. While e-scooter parking is mostly a question of sidewalk management, the authors note that cities also consider the management of e-scooters parked on private property.