Hoboken to become first city in NJ to launch electric scooter rental program
Hoboken’s Transportation Director Ryan Sharp; Photo courtesy of the City of Hoboken
Hoboken is set to launch an electric scooter sharing program, the first in the state of New Jersey and one of the first in the tri-state area. The city’s transportation department on Wednesday night passed an ordinance that allows for a six-month pilot program with companies Lime and P3GM to roll out next month. According to the law, the scooters can travel up to 20 miles per hour in bike lanes, but will not be allowed on sidewalks.
#Hoboken is finally giving @limebike a spin! I enjoyed hosting them last summer on @Pier_13Hoboken at a free pop-up event + now the City will be testing the ride share service from May through Oct. I hope you’ll take the opp to try it out + LMK your thoughts. ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/KU6vFGtrDX
— Councilman Mike DeFusco (@mike_defusco) April 4, 2019
“Electric scooters will help residents easily travel around our city, reduce congestion on our roadways, and improve access to transit stations and business districts,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in a statement. “This is another way Hoboken is leading the way in implementing environmentally responsible transportation initiatives.”
The pilot program will allow residents to try out scooters from two different companies, Lime-S and Ojo scooters. Operated by P3GM, which oversees the JerseyBike program, Ojo scooters will dock at the bike share station.
Regarding the new technology, Hoboken remains ahead of its neighbor across the Hudson River. While Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s initial budget proposed allowing localities in New York to decide whether or not to legalize e-scooters and e-bikes, the final agreement did not include the measure.
Kerri Biche, a spokesperson for State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, told Gothamist: “This proposal was not included in our Assembly proposal because it does not have a fiscal impact and could be considered outside the context of the budget.”
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