Dockless Scooters Present Pitfalls (And Potholes) For Police, Pedestrians And Insurers

The state considers scooters to be equivalent to bicycles. The City of Austin and other jurisdictions are grappling with how to regulate them.

By Jimmy MaasNovember 26, 2018 9:30 am, , ,

From KUT:

Dockless electric scooters have been for rent on Austin streets legally since May. Love them or hate them, they present some interesting legal questions for city officials, police and insurance companies.

Those questions persist as the number of so-called e-scooters grows.

The e-scooter company Lime says Austin riders have taken more than 1 million rides on its scooters since June. It has 500 scooters on the road, with plans for as many as 4,500. Bird has more than 500 scooters in Austin, and Jump – a subsidiary of Uber and the newest entrant here – has 1,000 scooters.

All those scooters are competing for space on busy roads and walkways.

Read more.