Q&A
Community feedback and calls for operational pause of e-scooter program
0:19:41
·
145 sec
Council Member Brooks-Powers asks about how DOT incorporated community feedback when implementing the e-scooter program, particularly in light of calls for an operational pause. Commissioner Rodriguez responds to these concerns.
- DOT acknowledges and values feedback from elected officials and the community
- The commissioner recognizes that there is a percentage of reckless e-bike and scooter users
- Most e-bike and scooter users utilize them for work or study purposes
- The program has enabled food delivery from greater distances
- DOT is committed to working on safety improvements and learning from successful aspects of the program
- The commissioner emphasizes the need to adapt to the presence of 200 million bike trips in the city last year
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
0:19:41
Thank you for that.
0:19:47
Just gonna jump a little bit around.
0:19:49
In October of this year, city council speaker Adams, New York State senator Leroy Conry, and community and civic leaders called for an operational pause of the e scooter program to build in improvements before resuming the program.
0:20:03
How did DOT incorporate community feedback when implementing the program?
0:20:08
Yeah.
Ydanis Rodriguez
0:20:09
The community feedback and and the feedback, it is especially coming from you as elected officials are voices that we definitely heard.
0:20:17
As you know, as a former council member that I hold the seat that now is a a a served by council member here at Carmen de la Rosa, we know that, you know, the council member had the ear of the community, and the community come and speak about
UNKNOWN
0:20:32
it.
Ydanis Rodriguez
0:20:33
And we as I said before, we are not denying that there's a percentage of reckless users of the ebike or scooter.
0:20:39
But what I what we stand is is is explaining the the most of them, most of the people who use ebike, most of the people who use scooter, they use it to work or they use to work, you know, where they have to go far from a a distance from where they study.
0:20:56
We all have to think about it, how we used to how we used to order food.
0:21:02
You know, I live in Inwood, and the restaurant only used to deliver it, like, 10 blocks from where I used to live 20 years ago.
0:21:10
Now if you place the order for an Inwood, whoever has the restaurant at 165 in Riverdale, they would deliver to us.
0:21:16
So it's about, you know, the the electric e bike or scooter also allow us, the consumers also, to be able to have food further from where we live.
0:21:27
So I think that we have learned a lot.
0:21:29
It it that's what I said that we are not far apart.
0:21:32
We all care for the safety.
0:21:33
May you add ons care for the safety.
0:21:35
We are committed to work especially on your bill that we should have a task forward that we look on everything that we've been doing, what we have learned.
0:21:43
And we well, we had to realize 200,000,000 bike trips in the city last year.
0:21:50
Those individual living age of 51 council district.
0:21:54
Those individual work in those council.
0:21:57
They're here.
0:21:57
They are not gonna be gone.
0:21:59
So we need to learn the successful part of the program and then focusing about some area that we can improve.
