As stand-up electric scooters have rolled into more than 100 cities worldwide, many of the people riding them are ending up in the emergency room with serious injuries. Others have been killed.
The new rules cap the number of licenses for dockless shared-use mobility companies in Indianapolis and mandate that those companies deploy a certain number of scooters to different areas of the city.
City officials and transportation advocates want to increase access to scooters for low- and moderate-income residents who live outside the downtown areas where they’re most heavily used.
Riders took 38.5 million trips on shared electric scooters in 2018. That eclipsed the 36.5 million trips riders took on shared, docked bicycles, according to a report released Wednesday.
The city has approved a scooter license for Spin, which was acquired in November by Ford for upwards of $100 million and is planning to launch in 100 other cities.
As a driver I was appalled by the total disregard for safety and rules of the road the scooter riders had.
So far, they have been more disruptive and dangerous than anything else.
The companies, which applied for licenses this month, received final approvals Tuesday and were given a date for when they can resume service in Indianapolis.
In its permit application with the city, scooter-rental service Bird Rides Inc. said high ridership rates it experienced last month in Indianapolis convinced it to come back with a much larger fleet of scooters.
Lime says that its application with the city calls for six times as many electric scooters as it deposited on Indianapolis streets in June. It’s also weighing whether to offer its electric-powered bikes.
Electric scooters could soon be back on Indianapolis streets, as Wednesday marks the first day that scooter-rental companies are expected to be able to submit applications to the city for a license to operate their businesses.
The regulations, passed 19-6 by the council, pave the way for Lime and Bird to return scooters to Indianapolis after they receive permits and agree to new conditions and fees.
Indianapolis isn't alone in dealing with a scooter invasion. Overnight in dozens of cities across the United States, the electric vehicles have arrived, often taking public officials by surprise.
Scooter rental service Bird has changed its mind about maintaining operations in Indianapolis while it waits for city officials to come up with an ordinance regulating such businesses.
Unlike competitor Lime, which followed the city’s request to cease operations while it came up with an ordinance regulating dockless scooter businesses, Bird said it doesn’t want to interrupt service.
Brian Payne, the mind behind the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, says he is generally supportive of electric scooter use on the trail—with a caveat.
The company—one of two offering rent-by-the-minute scooters in Indianapolis—said it plans to return to business once the city establishes its regulatory procedures.
These new transportation options need regulation, but city officials should resist overreaching.
An Indianapolis City-Council committee on Thursday evening voted to regulate businesses that rent out the dockless electric scooters that have caught on quickly since popping up around the city in the past two weeks.
City-County Council members are poised to put regulations on the motorized electric scooters that have been zipping around downtown over the past two weeks.
