Cleveland Extends E-Scooter Hours Until 11 P.M. — Finally and Mercifully

Attention: Those who've yearned to skip the car and take a Bird home from a Cavs/Guardians game, dinner, or as a connector from RTA after work, you now have that opportunity at a more reasonable hour.

Starting next week, on Jan. 27, Clevelanders will be able to activate the Bird, Lime and LINK e-scooters parked around town all the way until 11 p.m. Previous limitations kept riders scooting between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. (Shared bikes, like the ones offered by Bird, were and still are available 24/7.)

In a release, the city said the hour expansion was due to a series of mobility studies showing demand for later-evening access.

“Extended e-scooter riding hours provide more options for people who are interested in moving around Cleveland without a car,” said Calley Mersmann, senior strategist for Transit & Mobility. “We heard from many riders who were limited by the current 9 p.m. curfew. This update is one step toward the city's broader goal of encouraging walking, bicycling, scooting, and taking transit.”

The response to feedback is a mark of the city's support of inching away from car dependency, along with easing gradually towards becoming an 18-hour city.

And expanding e-scooter access is a pillar of reaching that mark. Such expansion moves Cleveland into the realm of other, bigger U.S. cities, like in Chicago, where scooters are rideable until midnight, or New York, where you can scoot your way throughout Manhattan 24/7.

That is, the city said, as long as drunk people don't screw this up.

"The City will be working closely with police, community partners, and the e-scooter companies to monitor and address any potential adverse impacts of the extended hours," the release said.

So, ride responsibly.

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