North Tonawanda, NY (WBEN) A few years ago, North Tonawanda introduced e-scooters for folks to move about the city. The program didn't last long, but is there a bid to bring them back?
Back in 2022, North Tonawanda began an experiment of having e-scooters available for use in the city. Mayor Austin Tylec says there were about 30 of them, and during that six week timeframe, there were 2,500 rides. "I thought it was a nice program," says Tylec. "People enjoyed them. We made sure that people are of age to ride them. There was like an ID requirements. It was all done through an app."
However, the Common Council declined to renew the program for the following year, citing liability issues. Tylec says there were no incidents involving the e-scooters.
As far as a comeback, Tylec says there hasn't been much discussion about bringing anything like that back. However, "there has been some discussion about maybe bringing those community bikes to North Tonawanda, similar to what the city of Tonawanda has on their side," says Tylec. He believes there is a strong possibility the program could return, if there is enough interest.
