Data: E-scooter rides surged during SXSW

Austinites are jumping on shared e-bikes and e-scooters to zip around town as the weather warms and COVID cases dip.

The big picture: Recent data from the city's shared micromobility map shows that most e-scooter and e-bike trips from Jan. 1 through the end of March were taken downtown.

• But they're used all over the city, the map shows, with lines stretching east toward Montopolis and west into West Lake Hills.

By the numbers: In Q1 this year, an average of 8,047 trips were notched daily by e-bikes and e-scooters — for a total of 716,200 trips.

• On average, each ride lasted 8.1 minutes and was .85 miles.

The period during SXSW saw the biggest jump in Q1, with rides climbing to a seven-day rolling average of 23,271 on March 19. That's more than double the number of rides from the same time last year.

But, but, but: Rides have yet to bounce back to numbers seen during SXSW in 2019, when shared micromobility rides averaged more than 40,000 trips a day, according to city data.

Of note: Four companies currently have operating permits from the city — Bird, Lime, LINK and Wheels.