Electric scooter rentals are taking off. Bradenton says the city isn’t ready for them
Renting an electric scooter is quickly becoming the easiest way to zip across large cities throughout the nation, but they won’t be coming to Bradenton just yet.
Bradenton officials are planning to postpone the adoption of scooter rentals in the area for at least six months with a temporary moratorium. The City Council took a similar approach in 2016 toward medical marijuana dispensaries.
Companies like Bird, Lyft, Lime are steadily rolling out their pay-as-you-go scooter rental systems to metropolitan areas in the United States. Using smartphone applications, users are able to locate a scooter nearby and ride it to their destination.
The temporary ban is expected to give Bradenton officials time to iron out some of the issues that come along with scooter rentals like designated travel lanes, scooters left lying on sidewalks and the amount of scooters that will be allowed to exist in the city.
Council members will discuss the issue during the first reading of the planned ordinance at a special meeting Wednesday morning. Miami, Tampa and Orlando are among the Florida cities that have already begun to allow electric scooter rentals.
Some cities have enacted outright bans, limited the number of scooters a company can provide or passed laws that require riders to own the scooter they are riding, according to USA Today.
However, Bradenton doesn’t appear to be specifically opposed to scooters. The draft ordinance acknowledges that rental scooters may provide a much-needed alternative form of transportation in city that is often heavily congested with motor vehicles.
Over the course of the next six months, the city will “analyze the situations which have occurred in other cities and evaluate and make recommendations for regulations which will encourage the sharing of (scooters) in the public right-of-way in a manner which will promote the safety and general welfare of the City.”
The City Council will go over the first reading of the ordinance Wednesday, with a second reading and public hearing set for Nov. 20.
