Electric Bikes and Scooters on Campus

 

In less than 18 months, electric bikes and scooters have taken towns, cities, and campus communities by surprise. They appeal to a variety of people who are concerned with pollution from cars and fossil fuels, costs associated with owning a car, and limited parking. Often at the forefront of new technology and innovative solutions, students on campus can find these issues to be especially important. Leading electric scooter and bike companies, such as Bird, Lime, and Spin, operate using an app-based system where users can locate an available e-scooter, unlock it, and use it - assuming you can find a charged one. This all sounds ideal until people realize e-scooters are dockless. E-scooters can end up scattered all over campus once riders are finished, unless there is a well thought out plan in place to address this concern.

 

Creating more regulations on campuses is always challenging and at some institutions of higher education, students have been displeased with new guidelines around e-scooters. At Michigan State University (MSU), students are required to park their e-scooters in metered parking spaces or obtain a moped parking permit. In fall 2018, MSU impounded 176 scooters due to students failing to abide by the rules, according to a report from Inside Higher Ed, and they were not alone. Indiana University impounded 150 e-scooters in just 20 days and retrieving them is the responsibility of the e-scooter company.

 

Each e-scooter can cost $40-$50 to recover. The cost for an e-scooter found impeding an ADA ramp or other accessible pathway could cost $100 to retrieve. In a November 28, 2018 article, students at Troy University highlighted their concerns about electric bikes and scooters causing problems for not only students and campus community members with physical disabilities but even families with children.

 

The biggest concern for campuses still remains safety. Their ease of use allows students to just grab and go e-scooters without thinking ahead, specifically when it comes to utilizing standard safety gear such as helmets. A recently released study looked at 249 patients admitted to two urban emergency departments associated with an academic medical center in Southern California. Of the patients, 91.6% were riders and only 10, or 4.4%, were wearing helmets. Further observation of 193 riders at local intersections found similar numbers. The authors state, "Riders share roads with fast-moving vehicular traffic but appear to underestimate hazards; we found that 94.3% of observed riders in our community were not wearing a helmet."

 

Spin, Bird, and Lime each dedicate a section of their websites to safety, encouraging riders to follow helmet laws and park safely by curbsides, and advising on where to ride (in bike lanes or close to the curb unless local laws allow otherwise). Bird even offers a free helmet to all active riders. The rider simply needs to cover shipping costs.

 

It's unlikely e-scooters and bikes will be disappearing anytime soon as they expand to more cities and campuses. Building a relationship with the company before they come to campus or preparing for the possibility they may come to your campus with clearly defined and communicated regulations for parking, riding, and safety awareness is the most proactive approach to take.

 

As engaged members of their communities, colleges and universities often host programs and events for the general public---including minors. In addition to minors visiting campus with family or friends, activities such as camps, summer classes, childcare, and tutoring programs bring minors to campuses, many of whom will be unaccompanied by their own parents or guardians. Some will even arrive as first-year college students.

 

The presence of minors on campus requires colleges and universities to manage a variety of risks ranging from premises liability to medical exposures, kidnapping threats, sexual abuse claims, and other concerns. In turn, campuses must ensure that faculty members, staff, students, and volunteers are adequately trained and aware of their responsibilities. State law often requires criminal background checks for individuals who will be interacting with youth. C olleges and universities should consider reviewing their background-check policies to ensure compliance with state law.

 

Several resources exist to help campuses identify and mitigate the risks associated with minors on campus.

Welcoming minors on campus is part of the role colleges and universities play as community pillars, and protecting those minors is a crucial aspect of that role. Institutions of higher education that are interested in learning more can save the date for the Higher Education Protection Network's 2019 conference in October.

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