Rochester could become the first city in New York to have a public scooter sharing program.

Mayor Lovely Warren asked City Council this week for the go-ahead once enabling state legislation is passed. That vote in Albany is expected prior to the end of the legislative session in June.

"If it passes, we should be able to start deploying scooters the next day," said Alex Yudelson, the mayor's chief of staff.

Warren is proposing an expanded agreement with Zagster, which currently operates the city's bikeshare program. The company would similarly install electric scooter rental areas in the public rights-of-way and elsewhere on city property. Those do not require the infrastructure of the bike stations but are more like designated parking.

In a memo to Council members, Warren wrote that Zagster would be ready to provide 400 electric scooters for the city (a number similar to its bikeshare program) as soon as the state acts. Zagster also could expand the fleet, if needed.

"We haven’t settled on every location," Yudelson said, "but a lot of them will be located next to bike stations."

Scooters will have a maximum speed of 15 mph but are GPS-enabled, allowing speeds to be modified based on location. Given that, Yudelson said, the city might ask that top speeds be lowered in congested areas like Park Avenue but allow scooters to go faster on open trails. The GPS also provides for a number of other security measures.

"Experiences in other cities have demonstrated that scooter sharing, like bikesharing, can reduce the use of traditional automobiles," Warren wrote, "increase rates of public transit use by addressing the 'first mile/last mile' gap, and reduce parking demand."

The electric scooters are not without controversy, however, as cities from Paris, France, to Columbia, South Carolina, have banned the vehicles — at least temporarily — citing increased accidents, and general public safety concerns for pedestrians and motorists alike. Once deployed, they will be treated just like bikes, restricted from downtown sidewalks, and required to follow other traffic rules, officials said.

Like the bikeshare program, Zagster will maintain the fleet and rely on sponsorship and advertising. Scooters will be taken in, likely daily, for recharging.

BDSHARP@Gannett.com