Atlanta City Councilman Amir Farokhi made news the other day during a Dentons law firm forum by speculating that the Council could cut operating permits to e-scooter companies to around four or five early next year. At the same forum, presided over by Dentons attorney and former Council President Ceasar Mitchell, Uber representative Nick Juliano noted the response is due to Atlanta politicians still under pressure “to react when there are tragedies.”
Indeed, the city has already imposed a ban on e-scooters and e-bikes from 9 pm to 4 am after a fourth scooter rider had been killed. And Atlanta’s mayor recently announced a strategy improve safety, which includes adding eight new miles of protected lanes for bikes and scooters.
Farokhi said that, from January to August, about 40 percent of his emails concerned scooter problem from upset constituents. He estimates nearly three-quarters of the 500,000 to 600,000 scooter rides in Atlanta every month happen in his ward, which includes sprawling Midtown. Sentiment among the mayor and Council right now, he thinks, is to trim the company permits. That in turn would slightly reduce e-scooter usage, as well as buy time for better enforcement and needed infrastructure upgrades to enhance street/road safety.
The invasion of the scooters, which took Atlanta and other Georgia cities by storm just over a year ago, caught local governments off guard. Users were getting attached to the service before regulations could be implemented to protect safety, whether on streets or sidewalks. Atlanta was especially unprepared—and many say it still is.
Back in March state Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville, told the state Senate Public Safety Committee that he was holding off on proposed statewide rules for electric scooters until next year while negotiations with scooter companies continue in various locales. But regulations of electric bikes passed the committee by a unanimous vote and could be acted upon in January.
So be ready for more rumblings about regulation during the 2020 General Assembly– although the consensus by the Dentons panelists was that localities are best at making their own decisions and/or regulations about electronic transportation options.
