Lyft Has a Plan to Dock Its E-Scooter Fleet
In a bid to tame sidewalk clutter and boost efficiency, the micromobility company is rolling out a network of docking stations and chargers, plus a beefed-up scooter.
Lyft’s Pillar system is designed to lock up both bikes and scooters, keeping wayward vehicles from wandering.
Photographer: Mat Rick/Lyft
In the beginning, shared electric scooters were synonymous with chaos: strewn-about vehicles cluttering city sidewalks, tripping pedestrians, spilling into roadways and bodies of water, and generally sowing disruption. Several cities struck back against micromobility companies with regulations mandating “lock-to” mechanisms that tether scooters to poles and bike racks, and can keep scooters upright and out of the right of way — if riders actually use them.
This week, Lyft announced that it is piloting a more structural solution: a dock that can park both rented bikes and scooters. Two prototypes of the Pillar model are already on the ground in San Francisco, where Lyft is headquartered, in anticipation of a future rollout in its other scooter-share markets, like Denver, Minneapolis and Washington, DC.