When a scooter gets dumped into the river, someone has to fish it out — literally
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Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
While paddling a kayak down the Mississippi River in Minneapolis recently, I spotted a Lime scooter abandoned on the shore.
My first thought was, "How did this get here?" The scooter was deep in the river gorge, under the 134-foot-tall Short Line railroad bridge, far below any road or trail.
- My next thought was, "Which poor soul's job is it to get this out?"
What we found: Workers for Lime fish them out of the gorge with a grappling hook from high above.
- They pull them up by hand, without a winch, Minnesota operations coordinator Max DeGree tells Axios. "It's a dirty job, but we do it."
Reality check: I've seen scooters in the gorge before, but Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board officials told Axios in an email that this is "not a frequent issue."
- They've found three scooters in the water this season — though last year a public works crew needed a boat to remove a few scooters stuck in the river near St. Anthony Falls.
By the numbers: Lime doesn't release exact figures on lost vehicles, but it's "very small compared to the size of our fleet," spokesman Jacob Tugendrajch said in an email. "Usually around or less than 2% a year."
The intrigue: Under its agreement with the city, Lime has two hours to respond to complaints about improperly parked scooters.
- That means DeGree's team — which drives the vans that pick up the scooters for charging — is "constantly" monitoring their maps for scooters in the water.
If you see a scooter out of place, contact Minneapolis 311, St. Paul Public Works, or the companies themselves: Lime, Veo, and Spin.
Go deeper: The reason I found these scooters in the first place: a kayak rental on the Mississippi River