Micromobility

In the face of an increasing number and severity of e-bike accidents this summer, the Virginia Beach City Council wants a task force to devise enforcement methods to keep riders and pedestrians safe.

Greenwich school leaders are notifying families, particularly of middle school students, that a new law went into effect in Connecticut this week requiring an operator's license to ride e-bikes and e-scooters.

The City Council gave first reading to an ordinance that would ban electric scooters on sidewalks and roads with speed limits over 30 miles per hour. The devices would also be limited to speeds of 20 miles per hour.

City police will step up enforcement in coming months to stem a “marked increase” in accidents involving electric bicycles, scooters and similar vehicles. Offenders will be given warnings or moving violations.

Officials have deployed urban service robots to inspect sidewalk accessibility, in order to take an informed approach to improvements; the project is part of the city’s Americans with Disabilities Act self-evaluation.

The company joins a handful of other government technology suppliers that are publicly traded. Via, which was founded in 2012, could now be on the hunt for acquisitions, according to its CEO.

As calls for service involving electric bikes and scooters rise, municipalities are tightening up regulations on the devices. Leawood and Prairie Village are among the latest to establish age and operational requirements.

The company committed to fishing the electric scooters out of local waterways within 24 hours. It also fines people who park them across sidewalks — though prohibited downtown sidewalk riding continues.

Town Board members approved a law to address use of electric bicycles and gas-powered dirt bikes on bike paths and walking trails. Police can now issue fines or impound vehicles being used illegally.

With possible state changes ahead on electric bicycle rules, the city’s mayor and a City Council member will meet with a state assemblyman on the topic. Lawmakers are at work on measures regulating the devices.

Ridership in the U.S., Canada and Mexico rose more than 30 percent year over year as the industry takes hold, according to the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association’s sixth annual ridership report.

In answer to growing concerns about distracted riders, starting Aug. 19, the University of Miami will not allow students or staff to take scooters, e-bikes or hoverboards through pedestrian-heavy areas of campus.

A new report from StreetLight Data shows the direct correlation between urban density and the level of walking and biking that residents do. Both are increasingly viewed as key pieces of the transportation ecosystem.

Rule changes from the Oregon state legislature mean electric bicycles in three classes are now legal for use on park roads – and along any trails that allow standard bicycles. They were previously limited to trails eight feet or wider.

The board of directors at The Woodlands, north of Houston, will reexamine usage of electric scooters and bicycles. It could define more specifically vehicles allowed on its pathways — or ban them.

Micromobility offerings in Columbus, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., will soon include electric cargo bikes capable of transporting up to 100 pounds. More device types and expanded infrastructure are intended to drive usage.

The city launched its 12-month e-scooter pilot program over Memorial Day weekend, allowing private and shared electric scooters to operate on designated portions of the Shoreline Pedestrian Bike Path.

State officials working to make amends for botched rollouts of a long-delayed electric-bike program have introduced new vendors to manage the next application period.