In a move that has been brewing for some time now, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Thursday issued an executive order prohibiting the issuance of any new permits for “shareable dockless mobility devices,” aka electric scooters.
The scooters have taken Georgia by storm over the past year and a half, with many municipalities, including Alpharetta, Athens, and Decatur, banning them outright. In January the Atlanta City Council put a series of regulations on the scooter companies, including more expensive permits, banning scooters from sidewalks, and promising fines if they were piled up in or near right of ways.
Those latter two regulations have hardly been enforced, if at all, and city officials have remained frustrated by the scooter companies themselves, who have put more and more vehicles on city streets. In addition, the first two deaths from scooter riders have occurred in the past several months, heightening concern even more.
“Across the nation, municipalities are dealing with the sudden and unforeseen impact these devices have had on our communities. While some municipalities have banned the devices altogether, the City of Atlanta acted in good faith to work with the private sector to explore innovative solutions to ease existing commuting strains. However, as Atlanta has seen two scooter related deaths, this complex issue requires a more thorough and robust dialogue,” said Bottoms.
The executive order seeks to put a halt on new scooters being added to the current pool while the city plots out its next steps. Reading between the lines, the future for scooters in the city may be up in the air.
A press release from the city states that the ban will be in effect until a city council meeting on August 5th, when “it is anticipated that the Council will introduce an ordinance repealing the authorization of the Commissioner of the Department of City Planning or his designee(s) to accept shareable dockless mobility device permit applications and to issue shareable dockless mobility device permits.” In other words, barring some serious lobbying from the scooter companies, (which will surely be attempted) their rein over the city’s streets may soon come to an end.
