Councilman wants e-bikes, e-scooters off streets until community meeting

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A Providence city council leader is calling to curb all e-bikes and e-scooters in his ward until the community can come together and discuss them in the fall.

Michael Correia, the council president pro tempore and councilor for Ward 6 (Manton and Mount Pleasant in the northwest of the city) cites complaints by his constituents of the bikes and scooters operated by JUMP, Bird, and Lime languishing everywhere like weeds, saying they’re a nuisance and obstacle to pedestrians and those with limited mobility using the sidewalks, as well as an eyesore to residents.

“I’m asking for the company to remove the bikes, the scooters after receiving numerous complaints from constituents regarding the bicycles being left all over the neighborhood,” said Correia.

He says some community members are also vandalizing them.

“Individuals have vandalized the bikes as far as removing the tires from them, handle bars or completely destroy the bikes”

Correia wants representatives from the companies to meet with the community at a public meeting yet to be scheduled for September.

Until that meeting, Correia wants the vehicles removed from the neighborhoods.

“We are finding them in the river. Most recently we found a bunch in another part of the city, the canal, being dumped all over,” said Correia.

The council passed a resolution July 18 calling for the city to conduct a formal analysis of the vehicles, rentable through a smartphone app by the half-hour or the day.

Uber, the company backing the JUMP operation, expanded the number of available bikes citywide to around 1,100 in April. Besides fees charged through apps, the service is also partly funded through sponsorship by Lifespan and Tufts Health Plan.

The scooters first appeared in August 2018, before the city demanded a dollar a day per scooter from the companies and capped the number of them at 300.

While Correia noted some reports of bikes or scooters being vandalized, there was also a report this summer of at least seven scooters found dumped in the Providence River.