Atlanta City Council voting on e-scooter permit ban
ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The Atlanta City Council is discussing a plan to repeal the city's ability to issue new e-scooter permits.
If approved, existing scooters would remain on the streets. Atlanta currently has more than 5,000 scooters and e-bikes, with current permits allowing for companies to put up to 8,000 more.
Tuesday night, on the eve of the meeting, a group came together to protest recent action by Atlanta’s mayor which sets a curfew for the scooters within the city.
The protesters gathered in front of Atlanta City Hall a week after Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms asked e-scooter and e-bike companies to set a curfew of 9 p.m. The mayor said she felt compelled to take action after a series of e-scooter related deaths.
The activists said the ban is unfair and a distraction from the real problems which is the heavy vehicle traffic. They said it furthers the culture of cars in the city, something they see should be changed.
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They said speed limits should be lowered, traffic lights adjusted, and there needs to be a shift in the way the city thinks about transportation.
The protesters also said it discriminates against those who work the third shift, those who are not white-collar workers.
The city also has been recently working on a plan to limit the number of dockless vendors and work with them on making the road safer for their users. That revised plan is expected to be finished by February.