Dockless scooters have been the talk of the town since they first popped up nearly a year ago, causing Austin officials to scramble to regulate them as emergency rooms continue to see dozens of injuries.

The American-Statesman reviewed more than 1,400 reports involving electric stand-up scooters and found that, outside of the "get off my lawn" type of gripes, residents and visitors have serious concerns about the dockless devices blocking sidewalks and ramps, going too fast around small children and pregnant women, and desecrating the city's parks and trails.

Yet as much as everyone loves to complain about the electric vehicles, data from the city's 311 service show that the stand-up scooters make just a small blip on the city's service radar. Only 1,850 scooter-related reports were made through 311 between May 2018 and this past February, compared with the more than 61,585 reports regarding nonemergency police issues made during that time, city data show.

Scooter reports, which included requests for service, complaints, questions and general feedback, were the 33rd most popular report in the last 10 months, topped by perennial annoyances such as missed garbage, loose dogs and street light issues. Just 597 reports were made about dockless bicycles during that time, according to 311 data.

Among the complaints:

• A 311 report in July said a reckless scooter driver was in the downtown area jumping in front of her car and they "spit on the caller's car and stuck his tongue out at her."

• A report made in January simply says "scooter is in a tree."

• Another report from November said: "Bird scooters parked in my landscape. Killing my wildflowers."

• A caller requested in November, "to have the scooters 'the bird' removed from the front of their business. They have a manicured lawn and these scooters on their property are an eye sore. More scooters appear as the days go on."

Another caller in November said scooter users were not paying attention or following the rules of the road: "Will it take someone getting killed to solve the problem?" the caller asked.

Two months later, 21-year-old Mark Sands was killed while riding a Lime scooter into oncoming traffic on the Interstate 35 frontage road near Sixth Street, Austin police said.

A man in September reported that he was having trouble accessing sidewalks blocked by scooters with his wheelchair. An emailed complaint from October echoed the same concerns.

"When will the city of Austin address the issues of people riding electric scooters at speeds up to 20 mph on the sidewalks? Shouldn't sidewalks be safe places for pedestrians?" the complaint said. "My wife and I nearly got mowed over walking to dinner on a sidewalk on Second Street tonight. Please define the rules for scooters before someone is seriously injured."

In November, a 311 caller reported that someone on a scooter almost hit a woman pushing a stroller. The caller was livid about the devices being allowed on some hike-and-bike trails, saying, "It is a recipe for disaster.”

People can report, by phone, online or through the city's 311 mobile app, a scooter issue — a blocked sidewalk or riders unsafely zooming around — and a Transportation Department official will be dispatched to assess and fix the problem. After that, scooter companies are given one hour to acknowledge they've seen the report from the city and respond, said Jacob Culberson, who oversees mobility services for the Transportation Department.

If scooter companies don't keep up communication with the city when a problem arises, the number of scooters they can disperse in town could be reduced. If an issue causes the city to impound a scooter, the company has to pay $100 to get it back, said Jason Redfern, a Transportation Department parking enterprise manager.

Austin Transportation Department staff members have ended up in nearly constant contact with the six scooter companies that have vehicles in the city. To address the onslaught of scooter issues, the Transportation Department has distributed the workload among existing staff, Redfern said.

"Could we use more resources to address this issue? The answer is yes, that would be ideal," he said. "The dockless scooters have introduced a challenge to the Transportation Department that we gladly accept."

Transportation officials who respond to scooter issues have found callers have misconceptions about what the scooter rules actually are, Redfern said.

Some might think a scooter is blocking a sidewalk, but really, if there's 3 feet of space available to pedestrians, it's not, he said. The scooters' newness, he said, keeps them from being treated as a normal mode of transportation.

"As we are getting the word out, we think that those social norms will be developed," Redfern said.

Complaints about devices on trails increased as the city’s Parks and Recreation Department implemented a pilot program in January to allow scooters on some park trails.

"Lady Bird Johnson would be rolling in her grave," one emailed complaint said.

The pilot program allows scooters and bikes on trails along Johnson Creek, Northern and Southern Walnut Creek Trail, and Shoal Creek south of 15th Street. Scooters are not allowed on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail and Boardwalk during the pilot program, but that hasn’t kept riders away.

“Exclusion of scooters on the Butler Trail is the largest complaint that we deal with,” said Amanda Ross, Parks and Recreation Department division manager for natural resources.

The program will last through September because the Parks and Recreation Department wanted to make sure it had enough seasonal data to analyze.

"Having been a frequent user of Austin trails for more than 40 years, I can say that allowing any motorized vehicles on our beloved trails is the beginning of the end," a December 311 complaint says.

The parks department is increasing signage on the trail and working with Austin police to come up with a way to enforce the rules, Ross said. At the start of the pilot program, the Transportation Department spent just under $1,000 through the department's Parking Enterprise Fund on 30 signs that specified no scooters were allowed on the Butler Trail, said transportation spokeswoman Marissa Monroy.

A second sign order will be footed by the Parks and Recreation Department for about the same amount, Ross said.

But parks officials are hoping Austin residents and visitors police themselves.

"At the end of the day, this is going to be Austinites taking an active role on how they want their parks to look," Park Ranger Program Manager LeAnn Ishcomer said.

Dockless mobility 311 calls spread from downtown

The heatmap below shows the locations of 311 calls related to dockless mobility - including both scooters and bicycles - from June 2018 to February 2019.

Source: City of Austin open data portal

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Interactive: Can you finish the chart of monthly Austin scooter trips? Click and drag to draw, then hit the "I'm Done" button below to see the real data.

Source: City of Austin open data portal