The Metro Council on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved new regulations for dockless scooters and bicycles, paving the way for the return of Bird and the introduction of other companies to the market. The regulations will limit the number of scooters and other dockless vehicles that each permitted company can deploy, where and how they can be deployed, and how Metro will continue to oversee their use.
Mayor David Briley did not commit to signing the bill, though he has two weeks to do so or allow it to become law.
“The Mayor’s Office is working with each department involved during this transition period to ensure the implementation process is in place and the pilot is rolled out the right way,” Briley spokesperson Judith Byrd said in a statement.
After Metro ordered Bird scooters off Nashville streets earlier this year, the California-based company took its Nashville scooters to Memphis. New scooters will be brought from California, according to a company spokesperson, who added that it will take two to three days to get scooters permitted and deployed after the regulations become law.
“We are thrilled by the overwhelming Metro Council vote implementing a new pilot program for low-speed electric scooters in Nashville,” says an unidentified company spokesperson. “This new program is the result of a collaborative partnership between Bird and city officials, and we look forward to helping Nashville reach its goals of getting cars off the road and reducing emissions. Nashville riders can expect to be back on Birds in the coming weeks.”
The bill’s sponsor, District 26 Councilmember Jeremy Elrod, said the new regulations were “the country’s strongest.”
Elrod’s statement from after the vote:
This ordinance attempts to strike a balance between promoting public safety, keeping sidewalks clear, and welcoming a new transportation option. Scooter and bike companies that want to come to Nashville will have to partner with Metro and be good actors, or they will face consequences including limiting operations or revoking their permit to operate. Companies will have to educate people that ride their scooters and bikes on how to operate and park them properly, and people riding them will have learn the rules of the road - most importantly that they are prohibited from using them on sidewalks. As this pilot project rolls out with the hiccups and learning curves to go along with it, Metro has extensive authority to regulate these vehicles as the pilot project moves forward, and I’m committed to addressing things as they come up. These vehicles are popular in many other cities, but they are only truly successful when companies and the city partner and work together. I look forward to seeing that happen here.
