Following the shared bike craze, electric scooters seem to have taken its place as the most trending transportation alternative in cities like Los Angeles. However, with a large number of scooters appearing to pour into the city overnight, several cities are working to ban or heavily regulate the scooters.
The Beverly Hills City Council passed an ordinance on Tuesday, July 24, which prohibits shared electric scooters from being placed and operated in any public area or offered for use in the city for a 6-month period.
The ban came as a result of several vehicle collisions involving electric scooters, as well as problems created by people riding scooters on sidewalks and abandoning them on the street, said the city in a statement. Beverly Hills police have reported that around 100 warning and 75 citations have been issued for violations of the California Vehicle Code involving scooters, according to a presentation during the meeting.
Scooter rental companies, such as Bird, Lime and Uscooters tried to urge the city to implement regulations instead of a ban. However, the city council denied their plea, citing “concern for public safety and a lack of any advanced planning and outreach” by the companies.
