Bronx getting e-scooter pilot program

E-scooter rentals popular in other cities will arrive in the northeastern Bronx this summer, city officials announced Wednesday.

Tech companies Lime, Bird and Veo were picked for a pilot program involving 3,000 scooters to assess whether the zippy rides are safe in New York, the Department of Transportation said.

Each company will deploy 1,000 scooters as well as a set of handicap-accessible scooters that will be distributed through community groups.

A state law passed last year allows the rental services — which require an app to unlock a scooter parked on the street or sidewalk — to begin operating anywhere outside of Manhattan.

But the city Transportation Department is taking a cautious approach to the rental scooters before unleashing them onto the rest of the city.

The rentals will only be available in the northeast Bronx above E. Tremont Ave until the summer of 2022, when the pilot will expand south to neighborhoods including Soundview and Throgs Neck.

“We want to make sure that this is safe,” said Transportation Department Commissioner Hank Gutman. “We’re building on lessons learned from e-scooter programs in other cities across the country.”

The e-scooters will max out at 15 mph, but riders will only be able to go 10 mph for the first 30 minutes after they use one of the services for the first time.

New riders will not be able to unlock a rental scooter at night, officials said.

The companies’ apps will direct riders to park scooters in locations that do not obstruct streets or sidewalks, and in busier areas they’ll be required to park them in scooter corrals, officials said.

The rentals will cost $1 to unlock, and officials said a typical ride will cost less than $5. Veo and Bird scooters will cost 39 cents per minute to operate on top of the $1 fee, while Lime’s per-minute charge is just 30 cents.