Downtown Mobile appears to be getting shareable electric scooters, based on a Christmas Day social media post from the mayor’s office.
Mayor Sandy Stimpson posted a photo of an electric scooter to Facebook and Twitter on Christmas with the caption: “We must have been very good this year. Santa’s sending electric scooters to Downtown Mobile!”
City confirms enthusiasm, if not details
Asked about the apparent rollout, city spokesperson Jen Zoghby confirmed the city was on board with the addition.
“We are excited, and we look forward to bringing another fun and environmentally friendly mode of transportation to Mobile,” Zoghby said.
The scooter pictured in the mayor’s posts belongs to Gotcha, a shared-mobility operator that was already running in Alabama at the time, including on the Auburn University and University of Alabama campuses. The city did not release a launch date, fleet size or pricing along with the announcement.
A second try at shared mobility
The scooters would arrive downtown after an earlier shared-mobility effort came and went. Lime’s dockless bike program ended its Mobile operation the previous January, leaving the city without a shared two-wheel option through most of the year.
Cities across the Gulf Coast and the Southeast spent that period working out how to handle dockless scooters, which tend to arrive faster than the regulations governing them. The recurring questions for local governments have been where riders may operate — street, bike lane or sidewalk — where devices may be parked, and who is responsible for clearing scooters left blocking a sidewalk or storefront.
Downtown Mobile’s compact street grid, with concentrated restaurants, offices and event venues within a short radius, is the kind of environment where operators typically see the strongest demand, particularly around Mardi Gras and other events that draw heavy foot traffic.