Spin’s Nashville operations partnered with the Metro Police Department to teach residents how to safely ride e-scooters.
When shared e-scooters suddenly arrived on the streets of cities across the country last year, people started getting out of cars and experiencing their communities from two wheels at unprecedented rates.
A study by Walk Bike Nashville that looked at data from six of the seven micromobility operators in the city from May 2018 to May 2019 found that people took 1.86 million scooter rides. And 60,000 riders took five or more rides on scooters, suggesting that they are locals and have incorporated micromobility services into their routines.
But while a whole new group of people were learning to appreciate non-car mobility options, it also meant that there would be a learning curve for people not used to getting around on bikes or e-scooters.
Local staff were onsite to facilitate safety demos for riders. Each participant took a quiz testing them on what they learned at the event.
That’s why Spin partnered with the Nashville Metro police department last weekend to offer a safe riding demonstration — and free helmets — in the parking lot at Nissan Stadium.
“It’s a really good opportunity for people to come out and get on a scooter for the very first time in a controlled environment where you can be comfortable, take your time, and learn how to ride,” Dan Shoman, senior operations manager for Spin, said at the November 16 event.
The majority of the roughly two dozen attendees were in their 50s and 60s, Shoman noted. Many of them had heard about the event on TV or radio and had wanted to try riding scooters for the first time in a controlled environment.
“It was really cool seeing them ride for the first time,” Shoman said. “One lady was really scared to start and then once we got her going, she kept riding and riding and riding and riding.”
Spin staff engages with residents as they learn more about the rules of the road in Nashville.
Dr. Hal Farmer, who came from nearby Hendersonville, said after taking his first scooter ride at the November 16 event, “I see everyone else doing it. I just didn’t know how, but now I do, so I’m ready to go.”
As the event went on, Shoman said they were able to pull in younger passers-by to try out the scooters, too, many of whom he noted were also first-time riders.
Classes like the one on November 16 give people who don’t feel safe riding a scooter for the first time in the street — especially where there are no bike lanes — a chance to practice safe scooter-riding without hazards and distractions. It’s also an opportunity for them to learn the rules and responsibilities for scooter riders.
Dan Shoman, senior operations manager at Spin, explains how to slowly and safely accelerate the scooter.
Given the interest, especially from people who would not have tried riding scooters for the first time in the wild, Shoman hopes to do an event like this again soon.
“Most importantly,” Shoman said, the November 16 class “set the stage for future events. The location is really good.”
While rider education and wearing helmets can go a long way toward keeping people safe, it’s just a start. Nashville is on the cusp of making some important investments in safer streets for all.
“We’re optimistic about where [sustainable mobility] is going,” said Lindsey Ganson, Walk Bike Nashville’s director of advocacy and communications. “The time to make transformative policy changes is now.”
Walk Bike Nashville helped promote the November 16 event. “I think a lot more people will ride the scooters but they are still new and different,” Ganson said. “Giving them an opportunity to ride in a safe place” helps.
So does making streets safer to ride on.
“I’d really like to see Nashville declare a stronger Vision Zero goal and we need to start building protected bike lanes,” Ganson said.
This past September during Park(ing) Day, Spin partnered with Walk Bike Nashville to create a temporary pop-up protected bike lane in Nashville’s downtown.
Nora Kern, executive director of Walk Bike Nashville, travels down the pop-up protected bike lane sponsored by Spin on National Park(ing) Day.
The route chosen for the demonstration was the same route slated for a more permanent safe streets project called the Downtown Bikeway. Now, Ganson says, the City is expected to start construction on the project before the end of the year. Once completed, people on bikes and scooters will have a much safer option when riding in Downtown Nashville.
Ganson also pointed to the mayor’s recent call to lower speed limits throughout the city’s neighborhood streets from 30 to 25 miles per hour.
In addition to lowering speed limits, there is a program that lets residents petition the city to install street calming infrastructure on their block to prevent drivers from speeding through their communities.
This sort of change “means a lot for people who want to go out and enjoy their neighborhood,” Ganson said.
And as Downtown Nashville continues to thrive, prioritizing different forms of mobility other than cars will be essential for cutting down on traffic and parking woes.
“I think if we don’t have scooters, we’re going to have a lot more Uber and Lyft,” Ganson said. “If there was safe space for people to ride, scooters would be even more useful for reducing congestion.”
