Nearly 700 complaints reported on new Dallas scooters, bikes

Dallas removed shared scooters and bikes from the streets years ago after many problems and complaints but they returned in May with new rules and new vendors.

In a Friday memo, the Dallas City Council Members said 674 complaints about shared scooters or bikes were reported to Dallas 311 by phone or online from May through July 17^th.

Jessica Scott with the Dallas Transportation Department said many complaints centered on improper parking or storage of the vehicles.

The complaints are forwarded to vendors who must promptly address the issues.

“We’re extremely satisfied with the response that the operators are showing. They’re improving rapidly. And for now, we’re satisfied with that response and really just allowing some time for these growing pains to resolve,” Scott said.

The so-called “dockless vehicle program” is much different than in years past. Instead of thousands of bikes or scooters and many vendors competing for customers there are only three companies, each limited to 500 scooters for bikes for a total of just 1,500. The companies are Bird, Lime and Superpedestrian.

Details on all the rules can be found here.

New technology is supposed to shut them off if they operate in places or times they are not allowed.

Stephanie Keller Hudiberg who leads the Deep Ellum Foundation said that feature is not working properly on many scooters.

“The scooters are not all shutting off at 9 p.m. like they are supposed to. There’s still changes that need to be made in the program,” Hudiberg said. “So far in Deep Ellum, our stakeholders are not pleased to see the firms are not always abiding by the rules the city has set, that the city worked for a year to set.”

She said more parking corrals are also needed to keep scooters from cluttering sidewalks. Riders are told not to ride on sidewalks and not to park the vehicles blocking sidewalks.

Most of the complaints have come in the Deep Ellum and Downtown Dallas area.

Jennifer Scripps leads the downtown business group, Downtown Dallas Inc.

“There are challenges, and I think a little bit of it is continuing to change user behavior to things like ‘please don’t ride on the sidewalk’” she said.

Scripps said the vendors have been responsive to her group’s efforts to improve the program as a low-emission mobility option.

“It’s that last mile of transportation. It gets them from a DART stop to a job site or a school,” Scripps said.

Scott said the City of Dallas wants to see the program succeed to boost mobility and help improve air quality.

Fines are possible for vendors or users who violate the rules.

“There haven’t been penalties per se but we have been in communication with the operators outlining our expectations,” Scott said.

Officials are gathering data on shared scooters and bikes to help decide if changes in the rules if necessary.