E-Scooters, as pictured in the Bronx above, will be available in eastern Queens this summer. Image Credit: CityLaw.
On May 15, 2024, the Department of Transportation announced the next steps in the e-scooter share program rollout in Eastern Queens for this summer. The program builds on the successful program in the East Bronx, where 3.8 million trips have been taken since August 2021.
The Queens expansion brings the program to four community boards, covering a 20 square mile area from Flushing and Auburndale to Rochdale Village and Springfield Gardens. Like in the Bronx, service will be provided by e-scooter companies Bird, Lime, and Veo. In May, Transportation will give follow-up presentations to the impacted community boards. In early to mid-June the agency will begin corral installations, and service will launch in late June starting with the southern part of the service area.
Transportation has already conducted outreach to elected officials, community boards, business improvement districts, colleges, hospitals, and other community partners. The agency has been educating residents on what the program offers and taking feedback for parking corral placement. The agency also educated residents about available discounts for riders who qualify for local, state or federal assistance programs like SNAP.
To promote safety, Transportation requires in-app safety training and quiz and age verification for new riders. For the first three trips, new riders will be in a “beginner mode” which caps the speed at 10 miles per hour and restricts use in overnight hours.
Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez stated, We are very excited for this summer’s arrival of e-scooter sharing in Eastern Queens following our successful East Bronx pilot, where nearly 4 million rides have been taken since August 2021. This expansion is an equitable way to bring a popular, safe, and environmentally sustainable mode of transportation to underserved neighborhoods in Queens, and we look forward to continuing our work with these communities as e-scooter share expands.”
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. stated, “I am very excited that the city’s e-scooter sharing program will soon be operating in Eastern Queens. Making e-scooters more easily available is a great way to help New Yorkers get where they need to go, especially those New Yorkers who live in traditionally undeserved communities. With so much of Queens existing within a transit desert, I am pleased the DOT is being creative and proactive in finding ways to make it easier for our residents to get around.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)