This month, all three companies that operate electric scooters in Atlanta will see their contracts extended for another year, thanks to a city council vote Monday afternoon.
There are 8,000 permits for scooters in the city, falling under the ownership of three companies: Bird, Lime, and Spin.
E-scooters have had a bumpy path in Atlanta from the debate whether to confine them to the sidewalks or the streets to deciding to stop them from operating at night and in the dark after a number of accidents and deaths.
Now, the scooters are being used as vehicles by some teens to commit crimes. It’s an issue Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant has been trying to tackle along with the council.
Councilman Jason Winston is working on legislation right now to require age verification in order to use a scooter. Right now, the age minimum being considered is 16 years old.
“Anyone under the age of 16 will be required to ride on sidewalks under adult supervision and they would also have to have a helmet on,” Winston told CBS46.
This is all a part of a working effort to reduce crime on scooters.
“We want to mitigate those issues by one, adding an age verification process on our scooters and holding the scooter companies accountable making sure that minors are not in our streets riding in the middle of streets in traffic, which is already unsafe, but also not in our streets committing crimes,” Winston said.
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