ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta is working to curb crimes committed involving e-scooters. City Council already has plans in the works to cap the number of scooters in the city, and enact additional age and time restrictions on usage.
Atlanta Police have been monitoring an increase in ridership since 2021 and a corresponding increase in crimes involving scooters.
That uptick is posing new challenges for police while enforcing the law, according to APD Deputy Chief Prenzinna Spann.
“It’s easy access," Spann said. "You can get around the city fairly well on them. The range of motion they can go, they’re 15 miles per hour. You can ride them through the street, through the sidewalk, alleys, different areas not normally traveled by a vehicle.”
Spann said she's noticed teens leading the spike in crime on scooters. She noted they are committing car break-ins, thefts, even shootings like over the weekend near Centennial Olympic Park.
The City of Atlanta has contracts on the books with three e-scooter providers: Bird, Lime and Spin. Law enforcement, the city council, and the department of transportation all work with the companies to ensure rider safety.
"We can contact them and subpoena information from the various scooter companies to find out who these particular individuals are that consistently plague the city by riding these scooters in and out of certain areas," Spann said.
Atlanta city councilman Antonio Lewis, who represents District 12, said there were plans to draw up legislation that would cap the number of scooters that could be in Atlanta, put an age restriction in place on who could ride scooters and further restrict times at which scooters could be ridden.
“It's our job to be watchdogs on this. We’re basically renewing legislation that was put out three years ago that was about to expire," Lewis said. "The only power we have as city council since I’ve gotten here, I noticed, is our paper and our microphone. We have to use it. We need more accountability by the companies. We need them to come talk to us.”
Vickey Beard, who's visiting from Knoxville wants to see more signage. She doesn't see the possibility of crime as a deterrent in riding scooters.
“I think with anything, people are going to abuse it to their own benefit," Beard said. "Everything we do in life is a risk, so you just need to use your own good sense.”
Logan Barfield works at a CBD shop near Piedmont Park. He's seen the excitement ramp up for scooters, wear down during the pandemic and then spike again.
"Some people took the scooters too far and definitely gave it a bad reputation," Barfield said. "Parking is one of the biggest things for sure. If you leave them in front of the shop, they're annoying especially for us. But if there are designated drop-offs, I get it."
Atlanta Police said several people were even hacking into scooters and riding them for free. Police said they would continue to work with the local government to look for additional improvements in scooter rules and regulations to keep riders safe.
For more information on scooters and rules to know for riding them in Atlanta, click here.