By the time you read this, electric scooters will be back on the block.

At some point Friday, you should be able to rent a dockless e-scooter somewhere in Portland.

Depending on your point of view, this is either terrific or terrible news.

Here are five things you should know.

1) Scooters are fun: Beyond the hullaballoo about e-scooters as an annoyance to some, there is an inherent truth: they are fun to ride. The Oregonian/OregonLive took a scooter for a spin in 2018 when they were in town for the first four-month trial run, and we summarized the experience here. Basically be safe, have fun, stay off the sidewalks, and use common sense.

2) Sidewalks and parks: We’ll say it again – please stay off the sidewalks. It is illegal to ride on sidewalks with a scooter, and the city said it would ramp up enforcement and lean on the companies to warn riders if they are riding illegally and institute fines or ban riders altogether if they violate those rules. The companies are also expected to create “geo-fences” to keep riders from terminating their rides in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

3) Helmets: Helmets are still required for all users, despite some effort in Salem to address that, but don’t expect rigid enforcement of those rules. Sidewalk riders are the top priority.

4) How many: City officials say they expect as many as 2,500 scooters from the outset, virtually the same number as last year. But Portland said it would incentivize companies to grow their fleets over time. Ultimately there could be as many as 15,000 by January, but Portland said 9,000 is a more realistic number.

5) Which companies: Portland on Friday morning announced that Lime, Bolt and Spin were awarded permits to operate in town. Four more companies -- Clevr Mobility, Jump, Razor USA, Shared Technologies, Inc. -- are in “the final stages” of providing necessary information for a permit. If they meet city standards, PBOT said Friday those companies may deploy their fleets “in the coming weeks.”

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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