B14 • The Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, November 7 - Tuesday, November 13, 2018
NEWS | TRANSPORTATION PROHIBITION
Electric scooter ban in full effect
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
ELECTRIC SCOOTERS ARE BANNED on the UA campus. Bird and other electric scooter-sharing companies will not be present on the University of Arizona.
BY CONNOR FRIES @cfries_19
UA Parking and Transportation Services announced a ban on all electric scooters on campus that went into effect Oct. 24. This recent ban has raised many questions as well as posed new issues to UA students that regularly use electric scooters to commute around campus. Gail Nazarenko, UA Parking and Transportation Services interim executive director, explained the transportation safety issues and concerns on campus that electric scooters pose. “The UA has safety concerns for riders and pedestrians, since the scooters can reach speeds of up to 15 mph,” Nazarenko said. The issue of electric scooters creating hazards for traveling around campus was mentioned in the official press release. The goal is to mitigate e-scooters blocking Gail Nazarenko, doorways, walkways and other campus paths. Additionally, UA does not want e-scooters to be brought into campus buildings, which would pose safety and accessibility concerns, according to the press release. Nazarenko stressed the limitations and dangers electric scooters can pose to those on campus, specifically to disabled students. “Since riders can leave scooters wherever they stop, UA has safety concerns about the scooters limiting accessibility,” Nazarenko said. Mia Seannell, a freshman architecture student, has been directly affected by the recent ban. “I’ll be really upset. This is all that I have; I don’t have a bike or anything,” Seannell said. “It [the scooter] goes fast, but only as fast as a bike … I’m in more
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control of this thing than a bike, I feel.” Seannell purchased the scooter earlier this year for around $500, which can be a large financial setback for student. Students that have purchased a scooter recently will no longer be able to use it, which could potentially be a financial burden on finding another method of transportation. If the scooter is found illegally parked or abandoned, the scooter may be impounded or the owner fined, according to the press release. “I don’t know what I would do without it,” Seannell said. “I guess I would just have to park it somewhere and leave it there. It’s disappointing.” Many other campuses, in particular Arizona State University, recently banned electric scooters and Bird and Lime electric scooter services on campus. UA PTS interim executive While this ban may negatively impact director some UA students, Nazarenko said that the UA and the City of Tucson are currently working toward a long-term solution for the scooters. The City of Tucson is currently in the process of making rules for an electric scooter pilot program, and the UA will in turn use the data from to come to a final decision of whether or not electric scooters will be banned campus in the future, according to the City of Tucson website. For students that will need to find other methods of transportation around campus, services such as the Cat Tran can provide safe transport around campus for no cost. Cat Tran schedules and real-time tracking can be found on the TransLoc Rider and the UA Mobile apps.
There are also concerns about the scooters limiting accessibility around campus.” —