Public transportation and scooters
By: J. David Chapman/June 27, 2019
Electric scooters have become a familiar sight in almost every city, including the largest cities in Oklahoma. In the morning, you will see these cute little scooters lined in rows on street corners of the most populous areas of town. In the afternoon, you will find them placed haphazardly outside office buildings, restaurants, coffee shops, apartments, and pubs.
They are rapidly becoming a ubiquitous feature of the urban fabric. The rapid expansion with the convenience, affordability and inherent dangers has drawn both support and criticism. Developers, city councils, landscape architects, urban planners and micro-mobility consultants are working hard to make the most of this significant, private investment in the public realm.
Traditionally, Oklahoma is not known for being on the leading edge of public transportation, with most residents depending upon their personal vehicle for transportation. The capital city recently introduced light rail to the downtown districts and was just awarded a federal grant for a bus rapid transit line, using dedicated lanes and priority at traffic signals, providing a new public transportation option between northwest-side neighborhoods and downtown.
This expansion of transportation options for citizens comes just as plans for Regional Transit Authority is being put in place envisioning commuter rail to Edmond and Norman, and expanding streetcar service to Midwest City and Tinker. The fruits of regional transportation systems around the world are seen once all the pieces are in place.
Oklahoma City’s streetcar ridership will grow substantially once systems such as commuter rail from suburbs and rapid bus transit systems are in place. Commuter rail and rapid bus system ridership increase as successful electric scooter and bike programs are put in place. This is the definition of multimodal transportation. The problem with being a secondary-sized city, like OKC, is a lack of population and funding to get all the pieces in place to make each piece individually successful. We have to piece it together and listen to the pundits complain about ridership until all the pieces are complete.
Although they can be hazardous, the cute little scooters are an important piece of the transportation puzzle. Commuters who use public transportation for the bulk of their commute can avoid a taxi or ride-share trip by hopping on a nearby electric scooter for the final distance to their office or home. We refer to it as the “last mile.”
J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).