A public service announcement about safe use of electric scooters turn into a full-fledged controversy last week in Portland.
"Portland transportation officials were red-faced this week after an unnamed staffer disparaged e-scooters as 'toys' for lazy 'tech bros' just as the city’s pilot scooter program went live," according to an article by Angie Schmitt.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation account tweeted the offending comment in response to a resident who "complained the city should be doing more to promote scooters to help achieve climate goal," according to Schmitt. The Twitter thread started out with a public service announcement connected to a newly launched pilot program, which Jonathan Maus reported on earlier this month.
Or maybe they’re toys that tech bros leave lazily strewn about, blocking corner ramps needed for people with disabilities. Also, people need to know the helmet laws for scooters are different than for bicycles. We’ll see how it goes during this pilot period!
— Portland Bureau of Transportation (@PBOTinfo) July 26, 2018
The faux pas also came just days after a ground breaking study found evidence of the popularity of electric scooters among low-income residents and women. The article includes more discussion of the difficult PR battle scooters find themselves waging even as the their products find widespread adoption where they have launched.
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