Scooters are back in Downtown Dallas. As seen in many posts in social media, downtown residents are quite divided in their opinions on this. While it isn’t Dallas Residents Council’s place to form an opinion, we do want to share relevant information.  Here’s what you need to know:

After making their debut in Dallas in the summer of 2018, all permits were suspended in fall of 2020 so that the city could refine the rules. 3 vendors were granted permits and starting May 24^th of this year, scooters returned. The following summarized the new rules:

·         Each vendor is limited to 500 scooters total for the city. That will likely increase over time.

·         Of the total (1500), no more than 25% (375) can be deployed in the “Central Zone” which includes Downtown, Uptown, and Deep Elum.

·         Scooters should be parked upright on sidewalks at least 8 feet wide or in parking corrals (which are few and far between). Renters can be fined $20 for violations.

·         Scooters can only be ridden on streets. Riding is prohibited in:

o   Sidewalks

o   Parks

o   Plazas

o   Trails

·         Fines for non-compliance are up to $200.

·         Scooters are limited to 20Mph.

·         Scooters are limited to 10Mph in The West End and Deep Elum from Friday through Sunday.

·         Scooters are only operable from 5am – 9pm.

The vendors are required to use “geofencing” technology to enforce speed limits as well as keeping scooters out of restricted areas. It should be noted that geofencing uses GPS which is not particularly accurate in Downtown due to buildings that block satellite signals. It might be good enough to keep scooters out of a park, but probably not off of sidewalks.

There are several ways to report non-compliance with the rules. Vendors are required to submit complaint totals, including time-to-resolve data to the city. The city has committed to automatically revoke a vendor’s license if they exceed pre-established violation metrics. So, it is VERY important that downtown residents take the time to file complaints when appropriate.

To file a complaint, contact the appropriate vendor with the unit ID (if possible):

Vendor	Colors	Website	Phone	Email
Bird	Blue & Silver	Link	1-866-205-2442	[email protected]
Lime	Green & White	Link	1-888-546-3345	[email protected]
Superpedestrian	Gray & Yellow	Link	1-844-701-8163	[email protected]

 

Reports of scooters that obstruct sidewalks or are parked within 10 feet of an intersection must be resolved within 2 hours.