The Seattle Department of transportation announced on Thursday that the pilot phase of the Seattle motorcycle sharing program has come to an end, and three companies have been selected to continue to install micro mobile devices on city streets.
After the review process, the operating licenses for 2022-2023 have been issued to link (superpesterian), lime and bird. These companies will be allowed to deploy up to 2000 electric scooters.
Bird is a new member of the group. The company operates in more than 400 cities and will bring its latest third-generation scooter to Seattle, which “provides a safer driving experience and longer battery life than earlier models”, according to sdot
Bird also said it plans to introduce its latest bird visual parking system (VPS) technology to Seattle. VPS has been piloted in several cities, including New York, San Diego and San Francisco, to help more orderly motorcycle parking and keep sidewalks unblocked.
Link and lime have been put into operation in the pilot phase, which has witnessed more adoption of transportation options. According to a recent report, from October 2020 to September 2021, 260000 riders rode more than 1.4 million scooters.
During the test, the wheel and rotation also worked, but did not meet the requirements of the new license. Stott said the two companies will have a few weeks to end operations and move their fleets to other cities.
Sdot said that the permit review process was characterized by “strong recommendations” and considered a commitment to safety, community participation and continuous improvement, as well as the needs of others driving on streets, sidewalks, bicycle lanes and trails.
Lyme, which has been upgrading its fleet, will continue to provide pedal assisted electric bicycles and scooters. VEO will also continue to provide Cosmo electric bicycles. Later this year, in addition to vertical scooters, link will also start to provide sitting scooters.