Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has put a hopefully temporary nighttime ban on smartphone-based electric scooter rentals following four deaths.
What We Know:
- After 4 scooter related deaths Mayor Bottoms put in a nighttime ban effective 9 p.m. August 9th. The “No Ride Zone” is in effect from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. every night until further notice. Companies are required to disable the scooters, though if you are already riding one at 9 pm the scooter will not automatically stop.
- The city received backlash from activists who had protested on Atlanta’s streets after a man riding a scooter was run over by a transit bus. “Across the nation, municipalities are dealing with the sudden and unforeseen impact these devices have had on our communities,” Bottoms said in a press release.
- “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,” said Bottoms.
- Additionally, Bottoms plans to introduce legislation at an upcoming city council meeting to address the impact of scooters on the city. Since Scooter startups originated on the West Coast in 2017, they have quickly spread across the world. These scooters touched down in Atlanta in May 2018, according to NBC News.
- While consumers flocked to this new service, safety concerns soon followed. Scooters accounted for almost 39 million trips in 2018, according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Although data on scooter-related injuries is incomplete, emergency room doctors spoke with NBC News and said they started seeing people get hurt while riding scooters shortly after they began to appear.
Other cities, including Chicago, have taken steps to monitor scooters. For example, San Francisco regulates how many scooters can operate in the city, while other cities require permits before companies can drop scooters onto the streets.
RIGHT NOW:
Protesters are forming a ‘HUMAN BIKE LANE’ along West Peachtree Street.
They’re calling for more protective bike lanes throughout the city of Atlanta, following a recent scooter death.
@wsbtv pic.twitter.com/0jM5tKMmWr— Audrey Washington (@AudreyWSBTV) July 24, 2019
Kailyn Hayes & Tiffanie Lanelle contributed to this article.
