Rules for Dockless Scooters Remain in Limbo

Bird scooters, safe for now (Photo by Jana Birchum)

This Thursday is Aug. 2, which means that two emergency rules for dockless mobility operators (scooters) pertaining to lock-to requirements and API (application programming interface) data reporting were supposed to go into effect yesterday, but didn't. On Tuesday, Transportation Department Director Robert Spillar issued a memo to the mayor and City Council saying that his office and the law department jointly recommend "delaying/not enforcing" the two provisions until "further understanding can be gained" of the challenges they may pose to the industry. The rest of the emergency rules remain in effect, however; Spillar hopes to present a set of proposed rules to city boards and commissions in early August, with a final draft being posted in early September, thus beginning a 31-day comment period. If all goes according to plan, Spillar will have that final set of rules in place by late October, though ATD will need to account for appeals after that.