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Atlanta Adds New Regulations For Electric, Dockless Scooters
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Atlanta's City Council passed new rules for electric, dockless scooters Monday.
Bird, Lime, Uber and Lyft all operate hundreds of electric, dockless scooters in Atlanta without a permit.
With the new regulations, the companies will be required to get an annual permit. City council set the cost at $12,000 to operate 500 scooters. Each scooter after 500, will cost an additional $50.
The regulations were approved by a vote of 13-1 with little discussion or debate. Most citizens spoke in favor of the regulations.
Bird scooters were the first to show up in Atlanta last spring. The industry exploded around town and the council has been searching for ways to grapple with it ever since.
Right now, scooters are located using an app on your smartphone and unlocked by scanning a code on the device.
You enter your credit card and driver’s license information. Moving forward, companies will need to come up with a cash option. Councilmember Andre Dickens said that is an attempt to increase equity.
Safety was also tackled in the new regulations. There is a speed limit of 15 miles per hour and they cannot be used on sidewalks, only in bike lanes, the road or other paths.
However, one major change is scooters will legally be allowed on the BeltLine. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the massive loop around the city, but the scooters will no longer be classified as such.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms still needs to sign off on the changes.
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