Bradenton will determine electric rental scooter operations in the city. This is how
When electric scooter rentals eventually make their way to Bradenton, city officials will be able to dictate nearly ever aspect of how they operate.
In a Wednesday morning presentation to Bradenton City Council, Jonathan Paul, principal of Nue Urban Concepts, walked the council through all the tools they can use to dictate how electric scooters can be used within city limits. In November, the city voted unanimously to approve a 6-month moratorium on private scooter companies while they figure out how to regulate the vehicles.
“This is your opportunity to actually put those regulations in place,” Paul pointed out. “There’s actually a lot of things local governments can do to regulate them, but what you can’t say is that they can’t come at all.”
Paul explained that the city has nearly complete control over how fast scooters will be allowed to travel, when they’ll be operational and where they should be banned.
Before selecting which scooter rental companies may operate in Bradenton, the city can put together a list of requirements. The city previously said it would prefer an operator that doesn’t allow scooters to be left lying on the street or sidewalk. Many of the regulations that officials have in mind will be simple tweaks for the companies, according to Paul.
Because the scooters are all connected via the internet and GPS, companies can electronically cap speed limits in certain areas, lock the wheels so that they don’t function in certain banned areas and even turn them off at certain times of the day. For example, companies could force scooter users to drive slower while on the Riverwalk or prevent any use at all after 11 p.m.
While the moratorium is in place, Paul will work as consultant with the city to help them identify which rules rental scooters will be required to follow. Some other restrictions in the city’s hands include determining where scooters must be parked and how many are allowed in the city.
Councilman Gene Brown said the revelation of all the policies they can control has him excited about the introduction of the vehicles.
“I’m for them. I like them. I think it’ll open up our village where people can park in either parking garage, jump on and they’re ready to go,” he said. “It’s a win-win.”
However, Bradenton has to be careful in how it bans where scooters are allowed to go, Paul warned. Earlier this year, the Florida Legislature changed statutes to treat micromobility vehicles like e-scooters the same as bikes under the law.
“Whether it’s a trail, a street, a sidewalk — anywhere a bike can go, these can go,” he said.
Mayor Wayne Poston pointed out that the city has an older population that might not be willing to ride scooters, but Brown said he still felt that the introduction of the vehicles could make Bradenton a “trendsetter.”
“I really think we’ve got an opportunity in the process to do this in a positive way for the city,” Brown said.
