DENVER — With an explosion of dockless scooters and electric bicycles in Denver, the city is racing to keep up with the companies launching these vehicles. In the coming weeks, the Public Works Department will begin helping the companies paint designated parking areas at transit and bus stops.
The Denver Public Works Department says it's currently evaluating which transit stations most need the parking zones.
The companies Lime and Bird already have 350 scooters each deployed around Denver. Razor, Lyft and Spin will all launch scooters soon. Meanwhile Uber's JUMP electric bikes have been deployed in Denver, and Lyft plans to launch electric bikes in the next six months.
"We have people who really love them, they love this new mobility option for getting around town, and then, you know, there's other folks are not so crazy about them," said Heather Burke with Denver Public Works.
The city is trying to promote the usage of dockless vehicles in conjunction with public transit. Part of Denver's mobility goals include having 30 percent of commuters walking, biking or using transit by the year 2030.
in July, RTD issued its own rules for dockless scooters and bikes, requiring them to be parked in an upright position and adjacent to existing bike parking racks. Some riders say designated areas aren't necessary.
"I think (a bus stop) is a perfectly legitimate spot to to leave them. I don't think they need to build certain spots for them," said Zach Cross.
The hope is the new painted parking areas will discourage people from leaving scooters and bikes in the path of pedestrian or scattered around transit stations. While riders can park scooters in areas not connected to transit, the city requires operators to redistribute scooters and bikes at transit and bus stops throughout the day.