Scooter service given reprieve
Company has until Monday to get permit
The Oklahoma City Council voted Tuesday to give a one-week reprieve to a rental scooter service that dropped scooters on street corners around downtown this month.
The council adopted an emergency ordinance authorizing the Public Works director to impound “dockless” scooters found for rent on the public right of way.
The measure was proposed to take effect immediately but, at the urging of Ward 4 Councilman Todd Stone, the council delayed the effective date until Monday.
The delay was intended to give Bird. co, a Santa Monica, California-based startup, time to obtain permits to put its rental “nests” on public property.
“It’s not our intent to impound these,” said City Manager Jim Couch. “We understand this technology is coming … but there are going to have to be some rules that are going to have to be followed.”
The debate is the latest chapter in the city’s response to the sharing economy represented by app-based services such as Uber and Lyft for ridesharing and Airbnb for home-sharing.
Also in Tuesday’s meeting, the council agreed to consider homesharing regulations but signaled there would be changes to the current draft of proposed rules.
Bird.co, Lime (known online at li.me) and Spin (spin.pm) have similar “dockless” business models.
Electric scooters (and in some cases bicycles and electric-assist bikes) are parked in disparate locations around cities.
In Oklahoma City, Bird. co started in Midtown, the central business district and Bricktown on Aug. 1.
The machines are connected to the internet and activated by a smartphone app. Renters pay a $1 activation fee and 15 cents per minute for Spin and Bird.
Scooters are deployed each morning, picked up in the evening and recharged overnight.
The concept differs from bike-sharing services common in many cities in that renters can leave the scooters anywhere they please.
Traditional bikeshares are supposed to be returned to a designated dock, and current ordinances require a “revocable” permit for rental sites.
One challenge with the “dockless” concept is that rental sites could change day-to-day, without notice.
Instant hit
To anyone walking or driving downtown, scooters have become almost ubiquitous in just two weeks.
With MAPS 3 streetcars running in simulated service on the Bricktown loop, the scooters are the second transportation alternative to appear downtown this summer.
“It’s new times,” Couch said. “We’re trying to respond to the new technologies and new opportunities that are out there.”
Mayor David Holt pointed out regulations are intended to promote public safety.
Riding on sidewalks, for instance, where pedestrians could be injured, is forbidden already.
The city has been working at least since February on regulations for “dockless” bikes and scooters.
Holt said a proposal could be coming within weeks or months.
The council’s the willingness to act swiftly on a comprehensive solution, he said, “shows we’re willing to embrace disruption — but you also have to embrace the rule of law.”
“We have to have an open, transparent, democratic process to amend our laws,” the mayor said. “We don’t just throw them out.”
The city lived without electric rental scooters “for 129 years, so maybe a few more weeks, we could do this the right way,” Holt said.