Skip to main content

Most cities can’t deal with escooters. Charlotte, N.C., wants to show them how

Getty Images

“We need to give people transportation options,” said Vi Lyles, the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Recommended Videos

That’s why Charlotte is participating (along with Omaha and Detroit) in a new project: working with transportation logistics firm Passport and micromobility unicorn Lime to determine the best use of escooters in its city.

Companies like Bird, Lime, and Spin have generated considerable buzz in the investment community, but they have also lit a fire under some city governments, becoming synonymous with dysfunction, infestation, and disruption — and not in a good way.

Cities across the globe are installing technology to gather data in the hopes of saving money, becoming cleaner, reducing traffic, and improving urban life. In Digital Trends’ Smart Cities series, we’ll examine how smart cities deal with everything from energy management, to disaster preparedness, to public safety, and what it all means for you.

The problems have been so rampant that cities like Las Vegas, Nevada and Asheville, North Carolina have banned escooters and dockless ebike services before they even had a chance to gain a foothold. An ounce of such prevention may save a pound of cure (preventing infrastructure headaches and traffic chaos), but it can also deprive people of an opportunity to try alternatives that could ultimately help fix existing transit problems.

So Mayor Lyles said she didn’t want to go that route. “Our goal is to get people participating in ways that benefit our environment,” she said.

Electric micromobility options like ebikes and escooters therefore represent a way to get people out of pollution- and traffic-generating cars. They can also be used in conjunction with existing public transportation systems, such as Charlotte’s new 20 miles of light rail, providing so-called “last mile” transportation solutions to  get people home.

And there’s no denying that people want such options.

“When e-scooters first came to town,” said Charlotte’s city manager Marcus Jones, “it left our shared bike program in the dust.”

But how and where were people using the e-scooters versus ebikes? Where were they leaving the micromobility vehicles? Were they serving the right neighborhoods? How could they be more efficiently deployed and should the city offer parking areas for the two-wheelers?

Scoot first, ask questions later

“The biggest challenge with cities,” said Passport CEO Bob Youakim, is that these questions rarely get answered. E-mobility startups “rather than asking for permission, just throw whatever into the city,” he said.

The partnership with Charlotte and Lime is designed to take a much different approach to multi-modal transportation. Passport already provides software solutions for transportation systems, including rules management, enforcement, ticketing, and payment systems for some 600 municipalities around the world.

“We’re trying to change the social norms about scooters.”

The company can handle everything from smartphone apps for public transportation to usage statistics for local DOTs. The company also happens to be based in Charlotte, making it the ideal partner to work with the city.

By tracking scooter rentals and coordinating it with other information about public transit routes, congestion, and parking information, Passport can report on where scooters and bikes tend to be idle, where they get the most use, and how they might be deployed to serve more people. Furthermore, rather than railing against escooters, such information can help a city encourage proper use and behavior.

“We want to incentivize it,” explained Jones. “Maybe you would get money off the rental if you wear a helmet, for example, or if you park it in a designated spot.”

Think of it as micromanaging micromobility using behavior modification.

 

In Charlotte they want to grant mobility access to the curb, enforce speed limits, and prevent escooters from being used in parks, said Passport’s Youakim, “But how do you enforce compliance?” It’s a tricky mix of carrot and stick, offering riders a discount if they drop off scooters and bikes in specific areas, while charging them more when they disregard the rules.

“We’re trying to change the social norms about scooters,” explained Mayor Lyles. And so far micromobility companies like Lime seem to support the idea.

“Incentivizing, that’s one of the concepts we’re testing,” explained Evan Costagliola, Lime’s director of transportation partnerships. “At some point, some level of penalty is needed to discourage bad behavior, although we feel a more effective tool is using an incentive.”

The road ahead

By working together, Costagliola also points out three significant benefits for Lime and its customers. Initially, the coordination with the city of Charlotte and Passport could help Lime right-size its fleet, offering enough scooters (now in their third generation with improved performance and reliability) to satisfy demand, while also reducing the number that remain idle, littering sidewalks.

A mix of transportation solutions is needed. It’s not all about two-wheelers and rideshares

Second, the data generated by the project can be used to demonstrate to other cities the value that Lime’s shared escooters provide. It will help the company demonstrate the benefits it offers rather than simply being seen as just another Silicon Valley bad actor.

Third, the pilot program should help create a more sustainable business. The city can determine how much it should charge for, say, parking an ebike or for the annual license on a shared escooter, while Lime can find the sweet spot between the amount of customer usage, maintenance expenses, municipal fees, and what it should charge riders.

It’s a collaborative rather than adversarial approach that could prove to be the model for other cities around the nation. E-mobility company Bird, by way of contrast, has had some tussles with the city of Raleigh, NC, over license fees and what it should charge consumers. Passport’s Youakim emphasizes, however, that each city is different, facing different climates with different topographies and different demographics and therefore different transportation needs.

Smart Cities: Charlotte | Escooters
Charlotte, North Carolina. Getty Images

“We’re often thought of as a city of millennials,” said Mayor Lyles, by way of example. She said part of that impression is thanks to the influx of roughly 1,000 new citizens to the city every week.

But a truly multimodal approach to transportation is needed in Charlotte. The city is home to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, for example, with several other colleges clustered around town. And there’s a significant retirement community with about 10 percent of the population classified as seniors — people unlikely to go whizzing around town on e-scooters.

So a mix of transportation solutions is needed, which is why the city would like to add to its 20 miles of light rail trains. It’s not all about two-wheelers and rideshares. And there are issues related to electrification and especially getting access to those who are currently underserved.

“We can’t just forget about the other people,” said Mayor Lyles.

John R. Quain
Former Digital Trends Contributor
John R. Quain writes for The New York Times, Men's Journal, and several other publications. He is also the personal…
The Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the $7,500 tax credit
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

After a brief and confusing absence, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit — and this time, it's sticking around (at least for now). So, what happened? Let’s unpack the ride.

The Ioniq 5, a sleek and tech-savvy electric crossover, initially made headlines not just for its design, but for being built at Hyundai’s brand-new Metaplant in Georgia. That domestic assembly qualified it for the EV tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires vehicles to be made in North America with batteries sourced from trade-friendly countries. But early in 2025, the Ioniq 5 vanished from the list. Why? Likely due to its battery packs, which were then still being sourced from SK On’s Hungarian facility.

Read more
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii  4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more