https://communityimpact.com/austin/south-central-austin/transportation/2024/04/01/austin-rolls-out-new-e-scooter-regulations-limits-operations
The total number of e-scooters allowed in the city has been curbed following the exit of Superpedestrian and its Link scooters last year. The fleet sizes of Bird and Lime, the two remaining operators, are being maintained.
Mendoza also said Austin will now be "holding the line" at just two operators and no longer licensing any additional companies .
Previously, nearly 9,000 total e-scooter devices were allowed to be in service across Austin. Now, the Transportation and Public Works Department is capping that total at just 6,700—leaving Lime with 3,700 and Bird with around 3,000. The average number of scooter devices on city streets had typically exceeded 6,700 devices since mid-2021.
Additionally, the transportation department is phasing out the use of dockless e-bikes citywide, leaving only the city and CapMetro's docked MetroBike program.
Other e-scooter rule changes now in effect include:
Limiting the number of scooters allowed in Austin's "urban core" by 50%, leaving Bird and Lime with an allowance of 1,125 devices each around downtown and south of Lady Bird Lake
Restricting scooter speed limits in nightlife districts by 5 miles per hour between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Requiring scooter operators to stage their devices in designated areas on a regular basis, rather than leaving them to be freely distributed across the city
While scooter staging areas will start off as marked spaces on the ground, Mendoza said they could eventually be "hardened" into more permanent corrals. The change stems from worries about community aesthetics, business storefront access and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility along streets and sidewalks.
Building off a previous pilot program, Mendoza said permanently blocking scooter access along Congress Avenue is another concept now under consideration as the city seeks to revamp many aspects of the key downtown corridor.
“We just need to reach a medium where all these modes of mobility can coexist harmoniously in the same space," he said of the updates.