Springdale amends ordinance for e-bikes, scooters

SPRINGDALE — Springdale residents may get to try out an alternative way to get around town after the City Council unanimously approved an amendment to a city ordinance to regulate how electric bike and scooter companies can operate in the city.

Some members of the council asked if the amended ordinance meant companies could just move into the city and begin operating. City Attorney Ernest Cate said that would not be the case.

“They would have to negotiate an agreement with the city,” Cate said. “This puts a framework in place to allow that to happen.”

Mayor Doug Sprouse also said there is no agreement in place.

“We’re just changing our ordinance that allows us to negotiate those types of things,” Sprouse said.

During a discussion of the amendment to the ordinance at last week’s committee meeting, the council was presented with a memorandum of understanding between the city and Spin, an electric bike and scooter company, for a pilot program to operate electric bikes and scooters in the city.

In that proposal, Spin would set up a 12-month pilot program to provide 100 electric vehicles for the program initially.

Patsy Christie, the city’s planning director, said Springdale has been approached by two companies interested in operating electric bikes and scooters in the city. She said the current city ordinance had no provisions for such businesses and said the current amendment was similar to one that established how crypto-mining companies could operate in the city.

“This is the second company that has come in and talked to us about it,” Christie said of Spin. “We need to be ready to deal with them if they come to Springdale.”

“We’re trying to get ahead of the game so we’ll know how to deal with them if they decide to come in,” Christie said.

A similar program has been operating and growing in Fayetteville since 2018. According to information from Dane Eifling, mobility coordinator for Fayetteville, the city started with 250 scooters about four years ago. In 2023, the city approved permits for scooter companies Spin and Veo to expand to 1,350 scooters combined.

The Springdale council also approved a resolution naming a new street after Truman Brewer, who twice served as the city’s police chief.