Ready or not, here come 2,500 electric scooters as city chooses 10 vendors

Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration on Tuesday chose 10 companies to run a four-month, 2,500 electric scooter pilot program and launched a quickie education plan to persuade Chicago residents and visitors to abide by the rules of the road.

Bird, Bolt, gruv, JUMP, Lime, Lyft, Sherpa, Spin, VeoRide and Wheels will each be granted 250 scooters to operate within a 50-square-mile test area bounded by Halsted Street and the Chicago River on the east; Irving Park Road on the north; Harlem and the city limits on the west and the Chicago River on the south.

During the four-month test, users will be free to "access the scooters wherever it is legal to lock a bike in the public way," according to City Hall.

The plan calls for scooter riders to "use a smartphone to unlock and ride the devices within the pilot area, though vendors will offer services for non-smartphone users and cash-based options," according to the city.

Two priority areas have been identified within the pilot zone, where at least 25 percent of scooters must be placed every morning.

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