OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — It's been almost a week since scooters hit the streets in parts of Omaha, which are part of a pilot program. Police are warning users to stay off sidewalks or they could be ticketed.
Plenty of Lime riders could be seen rolling past pedestrians in the Old Market Sunday afternoon. Dillon McCoy is trying the scooters for the first time. He says he isn't sure the shared scooters will last on the cobblestone streets because it presents some problems for operators.
"Where else are we supposed to ride, on the street? You don't have traction, you're bumping everywhere," he said.
Later on Sunday, we saw a rider drive down the sidewalk. scooting past two pedestrians. It caught them off guard, but they say they aren't surprised to be sharing the sidewalk.
"[The scooters] are all over," Jacki Stick said.
"You can't bring something like that to an area like this and not think scooters are going to be on the sidewalks," Louie Williamson said.
Down the street, one man is opting for another mode of transportation after trying out the shared scooters for the first time. Amrit Khangura says he'll use shared bicycles instead of the e-scooters in this part of town.
"I don't think they're safe enough to be on the road," Khangura said. "They change direction quickly and fast. They belong on the pavement more so than the road. On the cobble streets, they can be quite bumpy."
The city has defined areas where riders cannot ride the scooters at all. Whether or not the entire Old Market area is included is not clear at this time. The Omaha Police Department wasn't able to provide how much ticketed scooter riders will have to pay.
