Electric scooters have been growing in popularity lately and city officials have alleged that they have received plenty of complaints about the scooters being left randomly at different places in public.

There are 3 different companies in California who recently unveiled their electric scooters to the public a few weeks ago, despite having allegedly failed to first obtain the appropriate permission from the state.

City officials claim that they are concerned for the safety of those who walk the streets that the scooters might endanger them, that this is what's prompting the crackdown.

I wonder... which is more likely, that someone on the streets of San Fran might be unjustly attacked by an individual employed in a position of authority, or that they might be maimed by a scooter?...

Scooter companies have insisted that their products are going to help ease congestion and provide yet another alternative method of transportation for people to choose when they travel.

The traffic in San Francisco is ranked as being among the worst traffic in the world, and was previously rated as the 4th most congested city in the world.

Electric scooter companies are trying to come up with a creative solution to try and solve that problem.

The station-less bike sharing concept is being explored in various places worldwide. And thanks to the uproar that some city officials have made, various scooter companies such as Bird, Spin, and Lime, have sought to make changes to try and appease their worries.

This includes things like introducing helmets for riders and requiring that users submit a photo after they've parked their scooter after the ride is over.

Since launching, the scooter companies have provided a service for tens of thousands of passengers

It's reported that some officials have even considered launching a lawsuit against them over the matter, because of the discontent with the 'scooter clutter' that they see on the streets.

Right now, officials want the scooters off the streets while they seek to implement their new permit scheme. And along with that comes the requirement that companies will need to share the data that they collect with the city, among other stipulations.

They've got until June 4th to remove the scooters and obtain the appropriate permission so that they can continue to operate.

If they don't comply, they'll potentially be facing fines of $100 per unit/per day. And if they are caught trying to ignore the new rules, they could be banished from interacting in the scooter program entirely.

The city transportation agency is the one who is going to decide, rather than the market itself (via people voting with their dollars) which company might be deemed worthy to compete.

San Francisco isn't the only region that's sought to introduce new legislation surrounding the use of these free-floating electric scooters. In Austin and Atlanta they've also looked to propose rules surrounding their use.

Some surveys have found that people view electric scooters as being dangerous devices and say that they have no interest in using them. Though that isn't the case for everyone. It is already clear that there is a growing demand, there are many who want to see this transportation method as an option in their community.

In North America, the electric scooter and motorcycle market is estimated to be worth more than $200 million and it's expected to surpass $795 million by 2025.

Pics:
TechCrunch
Recode via recode.net/2018/5/20/17328110/lime-limebike-dockless-scooters-san-francisco-charge-drop-off
pixabay

Sources:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/04/10/san-francisco-officials-suing-scooter-clutter/
https://mashable.com/2018/05/25/escooters-share-city-regulations-sf-la-austin/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed#AU_832VZeSq6
http://www.ktvu.com/news/traffic-study-san-francisco-ranks-among-worst-in-the-world
https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/08/bike-sharing-startup-spin-is-getting-into-scooter-sharing/
https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/17/electric-scooter-permits-will-be-required-in-san-francisco/
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/05/28/1512481/0/en/APAC-Electric-Scooters-and-Motorcycles-Market-Projected-to-Reach-31-8-million-units-by-2025-P-S-Market-Research.html