Scooter rules in Aurora under review

Photo byJan Antonin KolaronUnsplash

Aurora, Colo. -- The Aurora City Council could change the rules scooter operators in the city must follow.

Assistant City Manager Laura Perry said during Thursday’s Transportation, Airports and Public Policy Committee meeting that the city is in the process of revamping its scooter requirements. Several new operators have expressed an interest in operating in the city after others have pulled out of Aurora, according to city staff.

Some companies have pulled out of Aurora

Council member Francoise Bergan said it appears the scooters haven’t been that popular in Aurora if some companies have left. But Tom Workman-Braddock said the scooters do get used when they are available, and the industry simply has shrunk in terms of number of providers.

Aurora is considering reducing the number of scooters each provider may deploy, Workman-Braddock said. There is a limit of 500 scooters per provider. The proposed limit would be 300. The city also would like to raise its infrastructure fee on the providers from three cents to five cents per ride, he said.

Concerns about where scooters left

Although Aurora doesn’t have a central business district like Denver, the scooters have caught on in other areas like along 9 Mile. The city requires the scooters be placed within two miles of RTD stations.

Council members Angela Lawson, Stephanie Hancock and Francoise Bergan all expressed concerns about scooters being left carelessly around Aurora. They would rather see them returned to docking stations. “What are we going to do with these devices once we’re done with them?” Hancock asked. “I’ve seen them just thrown on the sidewalk.” Perry said such concerns are exactly what staff is looking for from the full council. They will put a discussion of the topic on an upcoming study session agenda, she said.

Denver scooter problems

In Denver, council member Chris Hinds has advocated for safer scooter riding. Of 20 million scooter trips in Denver since 2018, police only have ticketed nine riders, Hinds said. He obtained statistics from Denver Health that showed during a 23-month period ending in 2023 that an average of four people per day were seen at the hospital due to injuries on scooters, costing $65 million annually. He said three out of five scooter crashes occur on the sidewalk.

Hinds said Lime and Lyft, the operators of scooters in the city, promised to have 200 scooter docks each built by 2022. But so far only about a combined 100 docks pepper downtown Denver. This leads to scooters being parked all over the place.

Cities have found different ways to regulate the scooters, but all require enforcement, Hinds said during a presentation to the council. Some cities, such as San Franciso and San Jose, have sidewalk detection technology. If a scooter enters a sidewalk, it will either slow down, stop, or beep.

Other cities have allowed scooter companies to charge riders more when they violate the law by riding on sidewalks.

Some cities charge fees

Some cities charge people who do not return the scooters to a dock a fee. Hinds did not make any recommendations Monday and the council did not vote on the issue. In the days ahead, Hinds wants to hear from his colleagues regarding enforcement.

Council President Amanda Sandoval said the scooters frequently end up in the Platte River. She said she sees them from her office. She said a nearby skate park is a hot spot for scooters left in the right-of-way. She said she’s tired of complaining about it because nobody ever comes to pick up the scooters.