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Portland Bureau of Transportation today announced that it is accepting applications from e-scooter companies for its four-month pilot program.
In a June letter to various scooter companies, commissioner Dan Saltzman said that the trial period will be for the city to collect data before formally inviting dockless scooters to Portland.
Related: Get Ready for a Swarm of Rental Scooters—the Next Thing You'll Hate About New Portland
PBOT spokesperson John Brady says applications from e-scooter companies who wish to take part in the pilot program are due July 12.
"Depending on number of responses we get and how long it takes to go through them," Brady tells WW, "we anticipate scooters could be on street as early as late July."
In other cities where dockless e-scooters have been deployed, residents complain that they are as annoying as they are convenient. The scooters, which are activated via a smartphone app and can be picked up and dropped off wherever, unlike Biketown bikes, are often haphazardly strewed on sidewalks when rider's reach their destination.
According to today's release, PBOT will cap the number of e-scooters allowed to operate in the city at 2,500 and require that companies deploy around 20 of their fleets each day to east Portland. Brady notes, however, that there is no limit on the number of e-scooter companies that can apply.