Somebody dumped 30 e-scooters in the Scioto River
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A Metro Parks ranger carries one of 30 electric scooters recovered from the Scioto River under the Rich Street Bridge. Photos: Courtesy of the City of Columbus
Columbus' abundant electric scooters aren't just clogging sidewalks.
Diving the news: During a cleanup effort alongside Keep Columbus Beautiful volunteers and Metro Parks employees, Columbus police discovered 30 muddy scooters in the Scioto River.
The big picture: Scooter-dumping is happening elsewhere, too, and has reached "absurd levels" in the rivers near Michigan State University, MLive.com reports.
- Our colleagues at Axios Twin Cities recently talked to a Lime employee about fishing scooters out of the Mississippi River with a grappling hook.
By the numbers: Three vendors — Bird, Lime and Spin — currently operate about 4,000 scooters in Columbus under a city permit system that started in 2018.
What we're watching: A new "shared mobility program" is in the works that would more closely manage e-scooter vendors with contracts, a city spokesperson tells Axios.
Go deeper: Electric scooter accidents are soaring
