What the Mobility Hub…
Oh hello, Pittsburgh, glad you’re here!
Have you heard much about Move PGH?
Move PGH is a program — sponsored by Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure — to provide all Pittsburghers with access to more transportation choices.
We launched Move PGH on July 9 and we also welcomed the first shared e-scooters from Spin to Pittsburgh.
But we’re not just adding more options: we’re also simplifying transportation by connecting all the shared mobility options online in a single app and throughout the city at Move PGH “Mobility Hubs.”
This news is not “extra, extra!” but if you are not in the mood to “read all about it,” we have a new video at the bottom of this post that explains Move PGH.
Hubs and Apps and Options, Oh My
Pittsburgh is the first city in the United States to adopt this approach — often called “Mobility as a Service” or “Maas.”
Soon, you’ll be able to find and pay for all these options in one app: Transit.
And we’re creating 50 different locations around Pittsburgh where you can find and select the best type of transportation for every type of journey. These are the Move PGH “Mobility Hubs.”
Most Mobility Hubs are located:
at charging hubs for our new Spin e-scooters
near Port Authority bus and T stops with frequent service,
next to Healthy Ride bike-share stations
And most will also include:
real-time transit arrival information (!!!)
convenient access to Zipcar car-share and
Scoobi mopeds and even…
meeting points for Waze Carpool
Active Mobility Hubs are marked with a yellow “Move PGH” pin on the Transit app and mapped here.
Ch-ch-changes
So, you’ve probably seen the new scooters around Pittsburgh by now? Pretty hard not to! Spin’s scooters have had a huge impact on our city in the two months we’ve had them — so we want to check in and see how things are going so far.
Have you had a chance to ride one?
Let us know about your experience in the comments below!
156,000 Spin Scooter Rides in Pittsburgh
A lot of Pittsburghers (and friends) have been enjoying our newest mode of transportation — as of September 13, we’ve seen 156,357 rides on Spin scooters!
Since these shared e-scooters are new in our city, it is natural that we will go through some growing pains as we welcome them into the fabric of Pittsburgh. If you have questions, comments, complaints, or compliments about scooters, you can contact Spin directly for fast and friendly service:
Give ‘em a call: 1-888-249-9698
Tell them in the Spin app
Or email them at [email protected]
Let’s travel the Mr. Rogers route: be good neighbors by sharing the public space of the city we love.
Learning from Others’ Mistakes
In Pittsburgh, we have approached mobility and scooters in a completely different way than most other cities. We have the advantage of learning from cities that went before us and had their streets overrun with e-scooters from numerous companies.
And we absolutely do not want that to happen here.
So DOMI, Spin, and Move PGH worked closely before the launch to create Pittsburgh-specific rules for riding and parking scooters.
It’s incredibly important not to block sidewalks, trails, or bike lanes.
It’s up to every scooter user to park properly and help ensure that Pittsburgh will never become a city “littered” with discarded scooters.
To make this as easy as possible, we’ve installed 115 parking corrals (seen on the right) in business districts with the most pedestrians.
Spin scooters properly parked at a scooter corral
Scoot to That Corral or Hub
Scooter corrals are about half the length of a standard parking space and can provide convenient and accessible storage space for up to 10 scooters. So the space needed to park a single car could fit up to 20 scooters!
But guess what — not a single traditional parking space was harmed in the creation of these corrals! Go ahead — try one today!
Pittsburgh is the first city to develop this strategy to reduce scooter street clutter. If you choose to ride a scooter, please park properly and help set a good example for other riders. This can also demonstrate to everyone that scooters are an asset to all in Pittsburgh — even to those who choose not to ride them.
Just imagine if those 156,357 scooter trips had been 156,357 single passenger car/truck trips! The endless traffic jams! The dreadful air quality! The struggle to find a place to park that car!
I Want to Ride My Bicycle (and Scooter)
One of the easiest things to remember is to avoid sidewalks when using Move PGH services, including Spin scooters and Healthy Ride bicycles, when riding and parking bikes and scooters. (There’s a bike lane, hub, or corral for that!)
Our skinny sidewalks are for our neighbors on foot and in wheelchairs and strollers, not for riding or parking scooters and bikes. Instead, take your suave self and your two wheels for a ride where it makes sense, like:
On the street
In bike lanes
Or other bike paths like our riverfront trails
Basically, when using Move PGH services, please be safe, be nice, and be 18 or older. Being safe is smart, being nice is, well, optional, being 18+ is the law.
Video: Connecting Your Transportation Options in Pittsburgh
We collaborated with Built Different Creative, a local agency to produce a short video showing how Move PGH is creating a seamless transportation experience in Pittsburgh. Check it out below!
And if you haven’t had a chance to see our “music video,” made by Pittsburgh’s Colours Creative, saunter on over to hear Homewood’s Benji perform “Move,” — it’s all about Move PGH and mobility in Pittsburgh!
Tell Us!
Don’t forget to let us know about your experience with Spin scooters below.
Please be safe, be kind, and have fun! (and don’t park on the sidewalk!)