[dropcap size=big]L[/dropcap]os Angeles is the latest city to set rules for where, when, and how dockless electric scooter rental companies can operate after the City Council passed new regulations this week. The “shared mobility” businesses — the largest of which are Bird and Lime — can now apply for one-year pilot permits to operate a maximum of 3,000 scooters each within city limits. The cap excludes Districts 4 and 15, until their already-existing pilot programs expire.
Applicants are incentivized to work in state-designated “disadvantaged” areas across L.A. in exchange for an increased device cap. (Doing so in the L.A. Basin is worth an additional 2,500 scooters, while the Valley adds up to 5,000.) In practical terms, companies will need merely to venture beyond the Westside and West Valley to meet these standards.
In addition, after almost a full year of experimenting freely, scooter operators will have to pay if they want to play.
An annual permit of $20,000, a $130 fee per scooter (reduced to $39 in disadvantaged areas), and $5 million in commercial liability insurance are all part of the program deal. They’ll also need to establish 24-hour hotlines for city residents to report devices that are broken or blocking public walkways.
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