Racial Equity Scooter Prescriptions Public Statement

On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, Equiticity President & CEO Olatunji Oboi Reed provided public comments (8:15 timestamp) at the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Transportation & Public Way, with regards to the City of Chicago’s proposed scooter ordinance and a permanent scooter program in Chicago.

Below are Mr. Reed’s public comments in full

Good morning Chairman Brookins and Aldermanic committee members.

My name is Olatunji Oboi Reed, and I have the pleasure of serving as the founding President & CEO of The Equiticity Racial Equity Movement, headquartered right here in Alderman Michael Scott’s 24th ward in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the Westside of Chicago.

My number is 773-916-6264, in case anyone will like to discuss this matter in more detail.

My remarks, with regards to the scooter ordinance, will begin with what we don’t support and followed by what we do support.

Equiticity does not support a scooter ordinance with no explicit, operational commitment to racial equity and mobility justice fully integrated into the ordinance.

We do not leave a commitment to racial equity and mobility justice to people with a good heart. Good hearts and warm bodies come and go. Goofy smiles and awkward handshakes come and go. Shifting political winds come and go.

We legislate a commitment to racial equity and mobility justice.

The City Council serves as the legislative body of our city’s government. We respectfully request the Transportation & Public Way Committee, as well as the full City Council, operationalize a comprehensive, authentic, sincere, and full throated commitment to racial equity and mobility justice directly into the scooter ordinance.

Bypassing the scooter ordinance, and instead city staff integrating racial equity and mobility justice during the rules and regs process, after the bill already passed the full city council, is non-durable. 

The rules and regs process does not create a durable, lang lasting, operational commitment to racial equity and mobility justice within a permanent scooter program.

Racial equity and mobility justice baked into the scooter ordinance is durable, long lasting, and impactful for Black and Brown communities.

Equiticity is in full support of establishing a permanent scooter program here in Chicago, with (in no particular order) Lyft, Spin, Bird, and Lime all licensed to operate in Chicago and all required to serve Black and Brown communities and the entire city in a manner which operationalizes an unflinching and full throated commitment to racial equity and mobility justice.

We advocate for a permanent scooter program which reinvest sixty six percent of the City’s scooter revenue in Black and Brown neighborhoods, and the process is core to a thoughtful and comprehensive public accountability and data transparency model.

We advocate for a permanent scooter program which establishes clear racial equity performance metrics the scooter operators are required to achieve, including, though, not limited to, increased ridership, improved transportation and related life outcomes, increased physical access to scooters, wider geographic deployment, increased community engagement events, increased LMI-focused membership program enrollment, and increased neighborhood programming. These equity performance metrics will be predetermined and made publicly available. Scooter systems will be incentivized to achieve these performance metrics. In turn, scooter systems will also be discouraged from not achieving these performance metrics. Incentives may include an increased number of scooters allowed on the street and/or lower fees. Discouragement strategies may include a reduced number of scooters allowed on the street and/or higher fees.

We advocate for a permanent scooter program which invests in Equiticity's community-led safe streets coalition of community based organizations, neighborhood stakeholders, and both shared mobility and micromobility companies operating in Chicago, purposed with developing a comprehensive, cultural, creative “safe streets” marketing campaign focused on changing the dangerous behaviors of drivers, cyclists, scooter-riders, and pedestrians.

We advocate for a permanent scooter program which invest in the establishment of an equitable community engagement plan, in which community based organizations, small businesses, and neighborhood stakeholders are compensated for their time, efforts, and expertise.

We advocate for a permanent scooter program, preceded by a complete racialized analysis of transportation inequities impacting Black and Brown communities and make the data and report publicly available and accessible.

We advocate for a permanent scooter program which establishes racially equitable outcomes and develop a comprehensive plan to both remove racialized inequities and achieve these racialized outcomes in Black and Brown communities.

My number is 773-916-6264, in case you want to discuss this in more detail.

Thank you Chairman and thank you Aldermanic members of the Transportation & Public Way Committee.

Now, turn on the Power, and let Equity flow.