ELECTRIC SCOOTER VENDORS SLAPPED WITH CITATIONS
7 of 10 companies picked by Lightfoot administration to run pilot program hit with tickets
BY FRAN SPIELMAN, CITY HALL REPORTER
Anyone who lives and works in Chicago has seen the evidence of electric scooters being ridden illegally on sidewalks, outside the designated area and being parked in violation of the city’s rigid rules.
On Friday, there was even more proof: fourteen citations against seven of the 10 companies chosen by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration to run a four-month, 2,500 electric scooter pilot program.
The tickets all carry a maximum fine of $1,000.
Bird was cited for operating outside the city’s designated zone.
Wheels was slapped for scooter speeding in excess of the 15 mph speed limit.
Bolt and gruv were ticketed for failing to enforce the requirement for post-ride photos to make certain scooters are parked correctly.
Sherpa and gruv failed to respond to complaints within two hours. Spin and Wheels got hit for not responding to complaints around-theclock. And Bird and Sherpa were cited for failing to affix an educational brochure to scooters.
Bird, Bolt, JUMP and Sherpa were also cited last month for failing to rebalance scooters properly each morning into two “priority areas” designated by the city.
Lime, Lyft and VeoRide have, so far, avoided citations in a popular program that provided 170,000 rides during its first three weeks.
“This is just the first step in holding these companies responsible to meeting our strict pilot terms,” Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Rosa Escareno was quoted as saying in a news release.
“Any vendor that continues to fail to adhere to the pilot’s terms will be subject to permit suspension or revocation.”
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, said electric scooters provide a “new mobility option,” but he’s happy to see the city “holding vendors accountable to the strict terms” established before the experiment began.