Electric Scooter Services Return To Indianapolis Next Week

New regulations require vehicle share companies to purchase a license that costs $15,000 a year, pay $1 per day/per device, and to agree on a number of safety stipulations. (Drew Daudelin/WFYI)

Electric scooters are coming back to Indianapolis.

The city has approved license applications from two companies – Bird and Lime – which let users find a scooter on a smartphone app, ride it, then drop it off for a small fee.

The City-County Council passed new regulations for the unique business model last month. It requires vehicle share companies to purchase a license that costs $15,000 a year, pay $1 per day/per device, and to agree on a number of safety stipulations.

Among the city's rules: users must always wear a helmet, stick to one user per device, park upright leaving at least four feet of unobstructed passageway, and they cannot ride on sidewalks or trails.

That last item remained a point of contention as regulations were written. Some argue that users will inevitably continue to ride on sidewalks, and that police officers don't have the capacity to address each infraction.

Lime representatives say users sign an agreement when they sign up for the service, making the user liable for certain violations, not the company.

Bird and Lime entered the Indianapolis market early, before the city passed its new rules. That prompted the city to ask both companies to stop operating, a request both complied with eventually.

The companies can start business again on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Both are expected to bring significantly more scooters to the street than they did earlier this summer.