Beset By Homelessness, Rising Rents, Nightmarish Traffic, San Francisco Cracks Down on Dockless ScootersQuote
"Not only are they aesthetically egregious, taking up precious sidewalk space, the often reckless riders are a hazard to pedestrians," said one letter writer.
The electric scooters themselves are "designed to serve [sic] the same affluent tech population that has precipitated gentrification, displacement, land greed and loss of traditional hard-won culture," wrote another.
City officials, grappling unsuccessfully with persistent homelessness, skyrocketing rents, and nightmarish traffic, have been quick to prioritize the issue. Last week, City Attorney Dennis Herrera sent cease-and-desist letters to dockless scooter providers Bird, Spin, and LimeBike, lambasting them for operating an "unpermitted motorized scooter rental program" that was "creating a public nuisance on the City's streets and sidewalks and endangering public health and safety." This was followed by the impounding of some 335 such scooters by the city's Department of Public Works.
Then, last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (essentially the city council) passed an ordinance that requires these dockless scooter services be licensed and tasks the city's Metropolitan Transportation Agency (SFMTA) with crafting regulations on these scooters.
These regulations have yet to be released, but a draft outline suggests a whole host of new city-imposed burdens on electric scooters. Companies would be required to purchase a permit for every 500 scooters they have on the street. The application fee alone would be $5,000; the permit itself $25,000.
SFMTA's outline also included draft permit requirements, including not just user education about proper scooter usage and parking, but also some sort of low income plan, data sharing with the city, and the establishment of an "approved service area."
Companies would be fined $100 for each rider caught not wearing a helmet or improperly parking the scooters. Repeat violators would have their permits suspended or revoked.
http://reason.com/blog/2018/04/26/beset-by-homelessness-rising-rents-night