Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order today barring the city from accepting new permit applications from scooter companies, pending an August 5 council meeting where more permanent actions is expected.
The order comes a week after a CobbLinc bus ran over and killed 37-year-old William Alexander in Midtown, while he was on a scooter leaving the Atlanta United game.
(It also comes eight months after a GeorgiaPol writer stupidly broke his stupid arm on a stupid Bird scooter, but I digress. Loudly. Often.)
Recent studies in Portland and Austin show that use of the popular dockless e-scooters results in an emergency room trip about once every 4,000 rides. Officials have been concerned about mounting public health care costs, as well as public complaints about scooter use on sidewalks.
While the Atlanta City Council requested injury data from Grady Hospital, the information has not been regularly delivered, city councilpeople say.
Bottom’s order “will remain in effect through the August 5, 2019 meeting of the Atlanta City Council, at which time it is anticipated that the Council will introduce an ordinance repealing the authorization of the Commissioner of the Department of City Planning or his designee(s) to accept shareable dockless mobility device permit applications and to issue shareable dockless mobility device permits.”