Months after rentable electric scooters abruptly appeared on — and disappeared from — Santa Barbara sidewalks, the trendy transportation service has popped up in Goleta and Isla Vista, where officials are scrambling to get a handle on the proliferation.
Bird and Lime are the two micro-mobility startups behind an estimated 500 of the dockless e-scooters that were dropped around Goleta and Isla Vista in September. The vehicles can be found scattered on street corners, sidewalks, parkways and, in some cases, private property.
To use the scooters, users download the companies’ apps on their smart phones and pay about $1 a mile for rides. People hop on the scooters wherever they find them, and then discard them when they reach their destination.
Communities have struggled to create rules and regulations for the shared service, including restrictions on where the scooters can be ridden and parked, speed limits, and municipal permits and fees. Users must be be 18 to ride.
Blindsided by the invasion, Goleta and Santa Barbara County officials are fielding calls and messages from residents upset by the clutter— especially in the area of Storke Road and Hollister Avenue near Camino Real Marketplace — and by the potential safety hazards.
Although there have been no reported injuries on the South Coast, fatalities involving the motorized scooters have occurred and rattled communities.
UC Santa Barbara has already banned the scooters on campus. In Santa Barbara, the city impounded more than 100 scooters left around its downtown while it works out a permitting plan under an emergency ordinance.
Goleta appears poised to follow suit.
“The companies launched their products into the city, but before we were able to make any assessment of their benefits,” City Councilman Stuart Kasdin said.
“Are they reducing car traffic by diverting drivers to scooters, or have they merely converted bicycle, bus and skateboard riders to scooters? Are they safe for the users of the scooters and for pedestrians, cyclists and the disabled? Are there certain routes for which it makes sense to permit the scooters, but for others less so?”
He said the City Council will consider a temporary ban during its Dec. 4 meeting and ask staff to evaluate the scooters and prepare a potential ordinance governing their use.
The county is in a similar position.
“Isla Vista business owners have complained that the scooters are often left in disabled parking spaces and in the public right-of-way blocking sidewalks, and this is a major problem,” Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann said.
“I hope the companies take a bigger interest in promoting safe use so that these devices do not devolve into being regulated as hazardous nuisances.”
She said she does see an upside — someday.
“These scooters offer new alternative transportation options, and that’s a good thing,” Hartmann said. “However, the companies that operate e-scooters have huge sums of outside investment and have already demonstrated a history of operating at the margins of regulation.”
San Mateo-based Lime did not respond to Noozhawk’s request for an interview, while Santa Monica-based Bird provided only a general statement that did not address the local specifics.
“We believe Bird is a great solution for any city looking to reduce its traffic and carbon emissions, and we have been thrilled to see the people and students of Isla Vista so quickly embrace Bird as a fun, affordable way to get around town,” the statement said.
“We have been having productive conversations with Isla Vista city (sic) leaders, UCSB officials and Santa Barbara County officials.”
The Bird statement made no mention of the City of Goleta. Isla Vista, meanwhile, is unincorporated and represented by Hartmann on the Board of Supervisors.
Chris Sneddon, deputy director of the county Public Works Department, acknowledged that there are no rules in place to prevent e-scooter companies from distributing their vehicles in the area. He is crafting a county ordinance to regulate them but said it would be better if Goleta and Isla Vista took a “uniform approach.”
Goleta City Councilman-elect James Kyriaco, who will be sworn in Dec. 4, is taking a long view, too.
“There are parts of Goleta that are not entirely appropriate for scooters,” he said. “I don’t want to just say ‘no,’ but we have to figure out a way to make this work for everyone.”
Amid the flurry of scooters invading the city, a cottage charging industry has emerged. Lime calls people they hire to charge scooters, “juicers.”
The individuals, usually college students, collect the scooters and load them into their own vehicles. They charge them overnight and then redistribute them to predetermined locations. Lime advertises that people can earn up to $150 per night.
Bird advertises $100 a night for people to use their own vehicles to charge the scooters.
“Charging Birds is simple: Just pick them up, plug them in and get paid,” the ad states.
Around Isla Vista and Goleta, it’s common to see pickup trucks carrying the motorized scooters.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
