Cities across Virginia are dealing with a new form of transportation — electric scooters. And now, they have some new tools to regulate.
Electric scooters have popped up in cities across the country, often unannounced and without permission. Richmond has had to deal with them. So has Alexandria. And Charlottesville.
Senator John Cosgrove of Chesapeake says it’s about time somebody does something.
“I don’t like scooters the way it’s been done in the past," he says. "It’s just you take the scooters in and dump them in the town and ask for forgiveness later.”
As of this month, local governments across Virginia will now have new authority to regulate scooters.
David Skiles is a lobbyist for Jump, an electric scooter company affiliated with Uber. Here’s how he explained the legislation to lawmakers during the General Assembly session.
“If, after a certain period, which would be January 1, 2020, a locality has not taken action, the devices would be allowed," Skiles explained. "So the default would be that they could be allowed. But that does not prohibit a locality from coming back at a future time and passing an ordinance or administrative regulation.”
Several cities are currently engaged in pilot programs to get a sense of how people use scooters and what kind of local regulations might be needed once those pilot programs are over.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
