City should give scooters a spin

Years ago, Mayor Thomas Menino declared that the “car was no longer king” in the city of Boston. Now Bostonians are in the midst of a two-wheel revolution that no one saw coming.

As the Herald’s Brooks Sutherland reported, dozens of abandoned dockless bikes and scooters are popping up in the Hub, despite the city’s opposition.

According to City Hall’s 311 call records, 211 abandoned dockless bikes and scooters were reported over the past year. Dockless vehicles are rentals that are left on streets and sidewalks but can only be unlocked and used when activated through a rideshare service’s app.

Not surprisingly, this has not gone over well at City Hall as Mayor Martin J. Walsh made clear in July, telling the Herald, “They can’t just show up here. There has to be some regulation of what’s going to happen.”

It is our opinion that the influx of bicycles into Boston, along with the creation of confounding bike lanes, has been problematic for commuters and commerce and dangerous for cyclists.

However, there does seem to be a market for the scooters around the city, so why not open it up for discussion?

District 6 City Councilor Matthew O’Malley has said the city should consider introducing dockless scooters. He has called for a hearing to look into bringing them to Boston.

“While I do understand the concerns that dockless transportation vehicles do pose, electric scooters are much better prepared,” O’Malley told the Herald last week. “My concern is less because the electric scooter companies literally go around and collect scooters and charge them overnight.”

The scooters are motorized so they wouldn’t compete with the Blue Bikes, which are fully sanctioned by the city.

The Boston City Council should hold hearings on the matter. If we are already committed to two-wheel transportation, perhaps scooters have a place here.