If you didn’t see evidence of the electric scooter problem in downtown San Diego last week during Comic-Con, then you’re just not paying attention.
The city was paying attention and last week rounded up about 25-hundred scooters for violations of the city’s new law for dockless scooters that went into effect July 1st.
Under the new rules, Bird, Lime and the other companies operating in San Diego have three hours to collect a scooter that violates the ordinance before city crews can impound them and it costs the companies 65-dollars for each scooter to get them back.
The law allows the city to impound any scooter that is left somewhere that is a threat to public safety.
But even if every scooter is parked in a designated area or somewhere not a threat to public safety, there is still trouble in scooter city. Just drive or walk downtown and you see the other problem and that’s on the scooter riders.
Too many of them scoot between cars in traffic, don’t pay attention to crossing signals and sometimes scoot within a few inches of pedestrians on the sidewalks.
The city’s new law also requires scooter companies to use geo-fencing technology to restrict speeds in several popular areas. The Mayor already has issued a warning to the scooter companies to comply or they’ll be done doing business in one of America’s most scooter-filled cities.
So the path forward for scooters in San Diego appears to be mapped out: Follow the rules or take your scooters and go home!
READ MORE on what a city spokesperson says.
(Photo credit reporting partner 10News)