The Dubious Logic of Scooter Lock Rules
A new law requiring shared e-scooter users to lock their vehicles to bike racks is taking effect in D.C. — but don’t expect it to make streets or sidewalks any safer.
Emily Calangian, Scoot accountant, demonstrates how to lock a Bird Kick scooter on in San Francisco in 2019. A similar law is now coming to Washington, D.C.
Photographer: Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
In the name of safety, the District of Columbia just made an important change to its shared e-scooter rules.
Ever since shared e-scooters appeared in 2017, companies offering them have struggled to dispel concerns about their dangers — both to the riders who pilot the tiny machines and to sidewalk users who consider the devices to be hazards. An increasingly popular way for cities to manage that latter risk: force e-scooter operators to install “lock-to’s,” a locking mechanism that a rider uses to affix their vehicle to a bike rack or street sign after completing a trip, thus preventing discarded scooters from becoming obstacles for pedestrians or those using wheelchairs. San Francisco and Minneapolis already require lock-to’s, and Portland, Oregon intends to do so as well.