Following an in depth discussion, on July 5, 2022, the City Council (in a 3-4 vote) decided to not proceed at this time with a scooter program. Click to watch the discussion.
The City Council Mobility & Infrastructure Committee initially discussed the idea of an electric scooter share pilot program in Issaquah during its June 14, 2022 meeting.
Bird, an electric scooter share company that is active in more than 300 cities across the nation, approached the City in late 2021 with interest in expanding their operations to Issaquah.
After gauging the interest of Bird in the Issaquah market, staff began to explore the challenges and feasibility of implementation of a pilot program in 2022, with the perspective that an electric scooter share program could help meet three of the goals outlined in the 2021 Mobility Master Plan:
- Increasing mobility in Issaquah by providing accessible options for short-distance travel.
- Promoting more environmentally sustainable transportation options
- Helping the City better anticipate future transformation in the regional transportation space
Bird offers fleets of shared electric scooters, which operate at a maximum of 15 mph, for rent. According to Bird, the scooters are intended to offer short distance trips to increase access to public transit and replace single occupancy vehicle trips.
Several cities in the region, including Seattle, Kirkland, Redmond, and Bothell, and many others across the country, have seen positive results from similar electric scooter share programs.
The City proposes allowing the creation of a pilot program with an initial deployment 50 to 100 scooters, scaling over the first four weeks of the program. Initially, Bird proposes the scooters operate within the Central Business District, Olde Town and the business area of Issaquah Highlands.
Learn more about the proposal, which is tentatively scheduled for consideration at the City Council’s July 5 regular meeting.