Author: Sasha Lekach / Source: Mashable
Bring on the scooters.
After months of scooter-less streets in San Francisco, city transportation officials finally broke their silence Thursday to announce which electric scooter companies would be allowed to rent out the battery-powered vehicles.
Of the 12 companies that applied for a year-long pilot program in San Francisco, only two were selected: Skip and Scoot. The two companies are allotted 625 scooters each available to riders starting Oct. 15.
The final decision came as a bit of a surprise to some companies, seeing as the city originally said it could award up to five companies permits back in June. It comes off as a retaliatory move for Bird and Lime, scooter companies that came into the city early without collaborating with officials. Uber and Lyft were also vying for a spot in their hometown’s scooter program, but may have paid the price for its past transgressions when ride-hailing apps arrived in the city unannounced years ago.
Skip founder and CEO Sanjay Dastoor said in a phone call Thursday that his San Francisco-based company was likely chosen for its collaboration and communication with officials. “We’ve been focused on the very beginning with working with cities,” he said, adding that Skip’s approach has made their scooters’ arrival easier to handle. “You haven’t heard a lot of news about D.C. having scooter armageddon.” Currently, Skip’s scooters are only present in Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon.
Scoot — known for its electric mopeds that already operate in San Francisco — still had a section on its website Thursday about “staying tuned” for what they call “kick scooters'” arrival in the Golden Gate City. CEO Michael Keating said in a statement Thursday, “We are happy to offer San Franciscans another fast, fun, affordable way to get around, and we are honored by the City’s trust in us to manage this new mode of transportation.”
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