City of Columbus Puts In Place Beginnings of Regulations on Shared Mobility Devices
Department of Public Service Working With Other City
Agencies
The City of Columbus Department of Public Service is
implementing rules and regulations surrounding Shared Mobility Devices, more
commonly known as shared scooters and bicycles for short-term rental. These
guidelines, which take effect immediately, were developed after collaborative
discussions between Public Service, Public Safety, the City Attorney’s Office
and Smart Columbus.
“Shared mobility devices present a mobility option that
can fill a need in Columbus, if handled appropriately,” said Mayor Andrew J.
Ginther. “I tasked our Department of Public Service to come up with
common-sense guidelines to manage right of way concerns as a first step to a
thorough and thoughtful plan that works in our city.”
The regulations include:
· Companies
seeking to offer Shared Mobility Devices for public use must obtain permits
from the department to operate in the city. A maximum of eight companies at any
one time may offer their products in the city.
· The
devices must be parked in an upright position and cannot be parked in the
vehicle portions of the street, including parking spots and loading zones. They
also cannot be parked in doorways, and they cannot block pedestrians on
sidewalks or curb ramps, fire escapes, inside bus shelters, in driveways or on
unauthorized private property or unapproved non-public spaces.
· The
City of Columbus may designate parking/staging spots for the devices in the
city to assist with keeping order in the public’s right of way.
· Each
company that receives a permit to offer Shared Mobility Devices in the city is
limited to offering up to 500 devices. The Director of Public Service has the
authority to increase this number based on demand and usage. The devices
offered must not be able to go faster than 15 MPH.
·
Companies offering Shared Mobility Devices are required to educate riders on
responsible and legal use of their devices.
·
Companies offering Shared Mobility Devices must deploy at least some of devices
in neighborhoods outside of the Central Business District as designated by the
Office of the Mayor.
·
Companies offering Shared Mobility Devices must put in place access to the
service for those without credit cards.
·
Companies with existing operations will have 30 days to come into
compliance.
At the direction of Mayor Ginther, the Department of
Public Service is continuing a multi-agency look at additional policies on a
range of other issues connected to the regulation of Shared Mobility Devices.
These rules largely govern the storage of shared mobility
devices in the public’s right of way. The Ginther administration will be
drafting legislation in the near future that will look at the operation of
shared mobility devices.