Every day, thousands of Austin residents and visitors ride a scooter downtown. Between April and June 2022, people took more than 1 million total trips on these devices, an average of 11,651 trips per day.
More than 100,000 trips passed through the segment of Congress Avenue between the Congress Avenue Bridge and Cesar Chavez Street in the second quarter of 2022, or about 10% of all micromobility trips in that 3-month period, according to Austin's micromobility Open Data portal.
As a vital transportation option, these devices are welcome in Austin, but concerns have been raised about the concentration of scooters on Congress Avenue clogging the sidewalk and impairing pedestrian access.
Austin Transportation is responding with a new pilot program to limit scooters in this busy stretch of downtown, mandating providers deploy no more than 100 scooters along Congress Avenue between Lady Bird Lake and the Texas Capitol. Additionally, providers can deploy no more than five devices on each block in this area, which includes Congress Avenue and the cross streets one block to the east and to the west, as shown on the map above.
The new change has prevented hundreds of scooters from amassing in this busy area, keeping the sidewalks open while maintaining mobility options for everyone in the city.
When you finish your ride on a scooter and reach your destination, park in a parking box or a micromobility corral. Remember to keep the sidewalk clear, park off bridges and away from creeks and rivers and away from private property. |
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