Council Speaker Adams and Sen. Comrie call for immediate pause and reset on DOT e-scooter program in Southeast Queens – QNS

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-28) and New York State Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-14) held a press conference in downtown Jamaica calling for an immediate pause and reset of the DOT-led e-scooter program in Southeast Queens.

On Friday, Oct. 11, the local lawmakers were joined by Reverend Carlene Thorbs, chairperson of Community Board 12, and members of the 149th St. South Ozone Park Civic Association, who held up images of e-scooters haphazardly parked in front of residential houses and laid on sidewalks.

Both elected officials stated that the program must be paused and re-assessed as misparked e-scooters affect the quality of life for seniors, homeowners, and other residents. They added that the program should be paused as soon as ‘tonight.’

“I am particularly concerned about the hazards presented to our seniors, people with disabilities, and others who may have a hard time navigating these e-scooters,” Adams said. “Without strong enforcement and regulation by the Department of Transportation and the three private companies, e-scooters will continue to be scattered all over our streetscape, undermining public safety and our quality of life.”

Since the program’s launch in late June, Southeast Queens residents and politicians have publicly complained about e-scooters from the three participating companies—Bird, Lime, and Veo—being parked haphazardly in residential areas.

Adams first called for an ‘operational pause” of the program earlier that week in a letter penned to DOT commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, expressing “profound concerns” about the safety issues constituents have raised regarding the e-scooter program.

At the press conference, Adams reiterated many of the points in the letter. She called on the DOT to consider the needs of residents by adjusting the program and ensuring a resolution for the safety issues presented. Adams also called for clear guidelines, proper signage and proper engagement to prevent the “hazards” from continuing. Adams also slammed the program, calling the rollout “chaotic” and “dangerous.”

“To have seniors walking out of their front doors and tripping over scooters. To have mothers pushing strollers through crosswalks, tripping over scooters, endangering the safety of them and their children, it is irresponsible, and it would be irresponsible of all of us not to speak up and say that we must reset this program,” she said.

Despite her criticism of the program, Adams said she is not totally against alternate modes of transportation. “We want to have modes of transportation coming into Southeast Queens and transit deserts. What we are against is not having our voices heard in an organized fashion. We have to come to the table together to figure this out, Adams said. “ We actually admire the numbers of the folks that are riding the scooters.”

Sen. Comrie said he and Adams weren’t the only elected officials in Queens upset about the program. He said that if it continues, it should have “respect’ and “dignity” for Southeast Queens homeowners.

Sen. Comrie said that residents with disabilities have come to him in passing to voice their concerns about the e-scooters being a mobility issue. “I was just at an award ceremony for a program that works with blind workers yesterday. And five of them came up to me and told me that they tripped because they didn’t know that an e-scooter was blocking them,” he said,

Both elected officials said they had seen underaged riders on scooters in downtown Jamaica. “There’s no way to verify the ages of the riders of these scooters and what, from what we’ve seen, 16-year-olds and 15-year-olds are on these scooters,” Adams said.

Sen. Comrie also claimed that underage riders use gift cards to circumvent age verification and use the e-scooters. “ That’s what the other young people are using to get on the scooters. [E-scooter companies] should eliminate gift cards so that they can know what the age of the person is once you show them your credit card,” he said.

The elected officials believe that the issues raised regarding the e-scooter program are part of a much larger transportation problem in southeast Queens.

“What is needed is not a Band-Aid approach to a situation that has taken decades to address. We need viable transportation in transit deserts like this community. Why not give us the proper bus service that we deserve and have asked for for decades?” Adams said.

Sen. Comrie suggested that residents of Southeast Queens should have a series of meetings to discuss the area’s overall transportation issues. Comrie also referred to the MTA Queens Bus Network Redesign, saying that the MTA needs to double the $30 million investment into the program. “Bus redesign in Queens is critical to the mobility, to the sustainability, and to the continued improvement of our neighborhoods,” he said.

Bird and Lime responded to QNS’ request to comment on many of the concerns raised by the local elected officials about the e-scooter program, including the age verification issue. The DOT and Veo did not respond to QNS’ request for comment.

Representatives from Lime and Bird refuted Comrie’s claim that youngsters are using gift cards to ride scooters. There are no Lime-specific gift cards, and riders cannot use gift cards to circumvent the age verification process. Additionally, gift cards cannot be used to pay for Bird scooters in New York City.

To create a Lime account, a rider must take a photo of an ID verifying that they are 18 or older. Additionally, the company believes that a majority of underaged riders are using their own personal e-scooters.

Furthermore, Lime ties underage riding to adults who are unlocking the e-scooters for underage riders. Lime is currently running an awareness campaign to inform people not to unlock vehicles for minors. The company reserves the right to fine and ban riders who fail to ride safely.

Austin Spademan, a Bird Partnerships representative, shared in a statement that underage riding violates the company’s terms and conditions and is subject to a permanent ban.

“We continue to have our operations team monitor for instances where an underage rider is using a parent account and will continue to take appropriate action against these riders,” Spademan said in the statement. “We are dedicated to the long-term success of micro-mobility in Southeast Queens and are committed to making adjustments to better serve the community while promoting sustainable and accessible transportation.”

Both companies asserted that extensive outreach was conducted before the program’s launch.

According to Lime, the DOT and Lime conducted about six months of outreach, including one-on-one meetings with elected officials representing the area, visits to each community board within the coverage zone, including community boards 7, 8, 12, and 13, and participation in events hosted by local community organizations.

Spademan shared that Bird worked with the DOT to hold over 35 briefings with elected officials, Community Boards, and other community representatives in advance of the program launch between Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. “Upon launch we spent over 200 hours in the community to directly engage with residents and answer questions about the program. We are fully committed to continuing to actively engage community stakeholders,” Spademan said in a statement.

Representatives from the companies said they are willing to work with local politicians to address e-scooter issues.

Nicole Yearwood, Senior Manager of Government Relations at Lime, said that massive ridership numbers show that an operational pause would negatively impact tens of thousands of Queens riders. “We certainly hear the Speaker’s concerns, which is why we’re in the process of expanding our staff and implementing fixes to improve parking,” Yearwood said in an email to QNS. “Given how much Queens residents are voting with their rides in support of this program, we believe the best path forward is to work together rather than completely take it away from our neighbors who have already come to rely on shared e-scooters as a safe, affordable, and sustainable transportation option in parts of the city that desperately need more ways to get around, not fewer.”

Yearwood added that Lime is committed to working with elected officials in eastern Queens and the communities they represent to “fine-tune” the e-scooter program.

According to Lime, since the Eastern Queens program launched on June 27, 26,000 Lime riders have taken over 200,000 trips in the service area, averaging 33,000 trips every week in Queens.

Additionally, in September, Lime shared with QNS that it plans to invest $1.5 million into its Queens program this year and $2.5 million annually beginning in 2025 to address community feedback about e-scooter parking and safety. The company is revamping its locally hired Foot Patrol team, now deploying squads based on real-time data and community feedback to address misplaced and misparked e-scooters in service areas. Lime is also investing in its Queens operations by upgrading hardware and technology and expanding its workforce with locally hired staff.