Scooter Media Brief: Then the CDC Rode In

There's still plenty of electric scooter news in the world.

4 minute read

December 14, 2018, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Dockless Scooter Share

Stav krikst / Shutterstock

Planetizen has been gathering electric scooter news for months now, and for a while the narratives were holding steady—cities were banning electric scooter share, people were embracing them, riders were ending up in the hospital, and scooter companies were launching operations without permits.

But then, this month, the Centers for Disease Control changed the arc of history by launching its first study of the public health impacts of electric scooters. According to an article by Dan Solomon, the study will take place in Austin, and seek to find hard data on the health risks of electric scooters. "It will be the first study of its kind, focusing 'on 37 EMS calls and 68 scooter injuries reported through syndromic surveillance conducted at area hospitals.'"

The study could provide an important step toward a more complete understanding of the consequences of the sudden popularity of electric scooters, and one that could also answer to at least one of the modes more measured and thoughtful, skeptics. Angie Schmitt's take on the electric scooter craze, blasted semi-frequently to Twitter, is more than worthy of amplification:

There is still a lot of work left to do to figure out how electric scooters to fit into the mix of travel modes. Here's the latest news and commentary on that societal project.

National News

National Commentary

Local News

Local Commentary


James Brasuell

James Brasuell, AICP is the former editorial director of Planetizen and is now a senior public affairs specialist at the Southern California Association of Governments. James managed all editorial content and direction for Planetizen from 2014 to 2023, and was promoted from manging editor to editorial director in 2021. After a first career as a class five white water river guide in Trinity County in Northern California, James started his career in Los Angeles as a volunteer at a risk reduction center in Skid Row.

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