August 1, 2018
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INSIDE
The
Week in Review
C ALENDAR
This page
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photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
A local man gets a free helmet and scooter riding lesson at Pioneer Courthouse Square, downtown,
after Bird, one of two electronic scooter companies permitted to set up shop in Portland, introduced
the service on Thursday.
Scooter Rentals Begin
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Arts &
Pilot transportation option will be evaluated
ENTERTAINMENT
M ETRO
O PINION
C LASSIFIEDS
D anny p eterson
t he p ortlanD o bserver
Electronic scooters have of-
ficially hit the pavement in Port-
land.
Two companies were allowed
to set up shop for their app-based
scooter services last week thanks
to permits from the Portland Bu-
reau of Transportation as part of a
pilot program to test the compati-
bility of e-scooters in the city.
E-scooters are rented with
credit cards through an app on a
smart phone. They are electroni-
cally locked when not in use, and
by
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left docked on the street for the
next customer. The companies re-
charge them each night.
The two firms, Skip and Bird,
each charge a $1 flat fee and 15
cents per minute, but offer their
own features.
Skip was the first company to
incorporate a “tip-over detection,”
which notifies them when a vehi-
cle is laid sideways and obstruct-
ing pathways so they can collect
and move them, the company’s
CEO Sanjay Dastoor told the
Portland Observer. Bird offers to
waive the $1 flat fee to people re-
ceiving state or federal assistance
E-scooters are meant to allevi-
ate transportation needs by pro-
viding a new, affordable and envi-
ronmentally friendly option to get
people to their destinations.
The city prohibits riding the
scooters on sidewalks, in public
parking structures, or without a
valid driver’s license. Helmets
and keeping scooters clear of
walkways are also required.
PBOT said it will evaluate
whether to continue to allow
e-scooters at the end of the pilot
period in November.
Supportive Housing for Homeless
An effort to tackle the issue
of homelessness on two fronts—
housing and mental health—was
announced Friday in a joint state-
ment by Mayor Ted Wheeler and
County Chair Deborah Kafoury.
The bulk of the $12 million sup-
portive housing pilot funding was
secured through Portland Housing
Bureau, with additional funding
from state and county funds.
Friday’s press release empha-
sized the bundling of affordable
housing and mental health treat-
ment as a first-of-it’s kind for
cross-governmental funding.
“Homelessness is a national hu-
manitarian crisis. It will take more
C ontinueD on p age 15
Mayor Ted Wheeler (left) and Deborah Kafoury announced Friday
a joint effort of local and state agencies to fund $12 million of
affordable housing with mental health treatment.