According to Jessica Scott, bicycle and micromobility manager for the Dallas Department of Transportation, 1,500 scooters will be available from three permitted vendors: Bird, Lime and Superpedestrian. Each company will have 500 scooters, per the permits they signed with Dallas officials, according to Scott.
Scooters were banned by Dallas officials in September 2020 amid concerns about public safety and city oversight during the pandemic.
Dallas City Council approved new regulations for scooter usage during a June 22 regular meeting. The approved rules limit the devices to be rented from 5 a.m.-9 p.m. by people who are age 16 and older.
The rules also lower the maximum speeds of scooters in high-activity areas and required scooters to be placed in underserved neighborhoods. In addition, the scooter companies will be required to address sidewalk obstructions or a device in the roadway within two hours of a complaint.
One of the major requirements for the scooter companies is putting 15% of their fleets in designated equal opportunity zones and no more than 25% in high-activity areas, Scott said.
“We’ll be checking in on those metrics daily,” she said.
City officials plan to evaluate the scooter program every 90 days, Scott said. Positive evaluations could allow companies to add 250 more scooters up to a maximum of 1,250 scooters apiece. Scott said the number of scooters on the street could be potentially lowered if they are not used often.
Scott said the speed limit for scooters is 20 mph, but it will be limited to 10 mph in six high-activity areas where the scooters are automatically reduced. These areas include Deep Ellum, the Bishop Arts District, the West End Historic District, the Dallas Farmers Market, the Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge and Victory Park.
Those riding scooters are not able to ride on sidewalks, in public parks or on roads where the speed limit is higher than 35 mph.
