INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis City-County Council passed a regulation proposal Monday evening that could put scooters back on the streets very soon.
The proposal, passed by a 19-6 vote, creates a license fee up to $15,000 per year for scooter companies, plus a $1 per day, per scooter operating fee. That money will be used in part to improve the city’s existing transportation infrastructure.
Right now, all scooters are off the streets after the two companies, Bird and Lime, agreed to pull them at the request of city officials while councilors worked to put regulations in place.
“We’re going to work hand in hand alongside every one of the council members along with the city and enforcement bureaus to make sure we are educating our users and our non-users on why we’re here, how we’re supposed to properly use scooters and how we’re not supposed to use them,” said Jason Wilde, Regional General Manager for Lime scooters.
The proposal also creates rules for riders including where they can and cannot ride and park scooters and a $25 fine for any violations.
Under the proposed rules:
- Riders cannot use the scooters in the public right-of-way, including on sidewalks
- The scooters can’t be parked in loading zones, bus stops, shelters or on ramps leading to sidewalks.
Councilors are also aiming to hold the two companies responsible for ensuring the hundreds of scooters across the city are working properly.
The companies have to provide a 24-hour customer service telephone number for users and they’ll be required to remove any broken scooters within two hours of being notified.
As of now, the earliest electric scooters could be running on Indianapolis streets again would be August 1.
(PHOTO: RTV6)
