E-scooters emerged in 2017 as a new shared mobility service in the United States. Portland’s pilot began July 23, 2018 and ended November 20, 2018.

Five companies applied for permits, and three were permitted: Bird Rides Inc., Lime, and Skip Transport Inc. All three companies were operating e-scooters on Portland streets by early August. Each company started with 100 scooters to introduce Portlanders to the new technology and increased the number of e-scooters to their full permitted fleet quota by August 15. From August 15 through the end of the pilot, each company was permitted to have 683 scooters available for rent each day, for a total of 2,043 permitted scooters. The fee structure in the Shared Electric Scooter Permit included:

• Permit Application Fee: $250
• Pilot Permit Fee: $5,000
• Per-Trip Surcharge: $0.25

Together, these permit and ride fees covered about 75 percent of project startup and program administration costs for the e-scooter pilot, as well as educational materials and public outreach. Costs and revenues for each phase of the pilot program are provided in the table below.

 

	Permit & Fees (Revenue)	Expenses
Pre-Pilot Phase	N/A	Program Design: $48,995 Subtotal: $48,995
Pilot Phase	Application and permit fees: $15,500 Per trip surcharge: $187,577 Fines and penalties: $9,000 Subtotal: $212,077	Program Administration and outreach: $155,415 Educational Materials: $11,455 Subtotal: $166,870
Post-Pilot Phase	N/A	Program Evaluation: $71,417 Subtotal: $71,417
Total:	$212,077	$287,282
Balance:	-$75,205