In late June, the city’s Department of Transportation announced that the successful e-scooter sharing program piloted in the Bronx is “here to stay and that it will expand to eastern Queens.” This expansion plan mirrors the recommendations made in a recent Center for an Urban Future commentary by Senior Fellow for Climate and Opportunity John Surico, urging the expansion of micromobility options in less transit-rich neighborhoods. 

In a commentary titled “Expanding Micromobility Across All Five Boroughs,” Surico argued that expanding shared micromobility options across New York City will be key to combating the climate crisis and keeping the city competitive in an age of hybrid work. Our commentary hailed the success of the Bronx e-scooter pilot and called for its expansion to “less transit-rich neighborhoods that need them most, areas like Laurelton [and] Cambria Heights . . . where access to jobs is restricted by challenging commutes, local commercial corridors are still struggling to rebound from the depths of the pandemic, and car dependency is high.” 

In announcing the Queens expansion, a DOT spokesperson says that it would “cover some 20 square miles from Flushing and Auburndale in the north to Rochdale Village and Springfield Gardens in the south,” likely reaching those very neighborhoods cited in CUF’s commentary.