BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Boise City Council has approved three ordinances designed to address safety and other issues arising from the growing use of e-scooters In Idaho’s largest city.
The Idaho Statesman reports that the scooters arrived in Boise in October, and the city now has 750 scooters split among three companies: Bird, Lime and Spin. In nine months, users have traveled nearly half a million miles, and each scooter averages almost four rides per day.
One change approved by the Council affects speed limits. Boise currently limits speeds to 15 mph, but the new ordinances will make riders slow down to under 5 mph in congested areas, public plazas or other geofenced areas.
A second change affects reckless riders. Each scooter will get an ID number to help people identify reckless users and report them to the companies.
“If there’s an interaction or an unfriendly rider that’s out there causing problems, someone could call in that number, we would go right back, pinpoint that, report it to the company, and they could take them off the system, ” Craig Croner, administrative services manager, said at a Boise City Council work session last week.
Cities like Portland and Denver have used individual IDs on their scooters.
A third change penalizes vandalism. If a rider knowingly defaces public or private property open to the public with tire marks, that person would be guilty of a misdemeanor
A fourth may affect each company’s fleet size. The city will monitor the use of e-scooters to determine how many devices should be part of a company’s fleet by looking at how often each device is used.
The city will cap the number of devices at 1,500.
