Changes on the way for Austin’s scooters

New rules — and a new focus on equity —  have arrived for Austin’s scooter rentals.

Transportation and Public Works posted a new set of draft director’s rules governing the city’s shared micromobility program on May 12, which like a similar update to the residential parking program would offer tweaks in response to survey responses. The posting of the rules comes after presentations to the City Council Mobility Committee in April, where the department presented the program so far as mostly successful, and then in greater detail to the Urban Transportation Commission during a meeting on May 6.

Transportation’s Joseph al-Hajeri said that the new changes are mostly to device standards and safety, rules around where devices can be used and parked, and a new section focused on equity.

He also said the department was hoping to usher in a period of better communication between the public and the department with respect to the program, which has received some criticism over the years, including by city commissions.

“This needs to be more consistent and something that we’re really dedicated to,” al-Hajeri said.

One of the biggest changes to the rules is the totally new equity section, which will require providers like Lime to build out their own programs to provide more for disadvantaged Austinites.

Specifically, the rules instruct providers to make their vehicles available to anyone with an income below 80 percent of the local median family income, currently set at around 126,000 dollars, for “no greater than 50 [percent] of the usual rate,” and to make it possible to book a vehicle without a smartphone and pay with cash, among other measures.

Other major changes include refinements to vehicle safety and quality rules. Where the old rules were vague, with items like a requirement that scooters and other ‘dockless mobility devices’ be “sturdily built to withstand the rigors of outdoor storage and constant use,” the new rules are more specific, requiring things like brakes, front-and-rear lights, and city inspections for build quality.

Austinites, and scooter users, interested in reading the full rules can find them online here.

“I need to start with some kudos,” said Urban Transportation commissioner Spencer Schumacher, prefacing his questions for the department during the meeting on May 6.

“We put together a recommendation [last] May after [a previous round of changes to the program], and that was one of our more contentious discussions, but what came out of that was the ask that those get developed into the formal director’s rules and that there be a robust public engagement process,” Schumacher continued. “You guys have done both of those things. So thank you for that.”

Photo by Luis Tamayo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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