Rental Scooters Return to Dallas

Rental electric scooters and e-bikes have returned to Dallas following a nearly three-year ban, but geofencing will prevent them from operating in the Park Cities.

May 24 marked the soft launch of the “shared dockless vehicles,” and the official launch will be May 31. Three brands — Bird, Lime, and Superpedestrian — are each permitted to plant 500 scooters in Dallas. 

Some protocols in place:

• Public parks, trails, and plazas will be “No-Ride Zones.”
• Areas where speeds are limited to 10 mph, such as Deep Ellum, West End, and the Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge, are classified as “Slow-Ride Zones.”
• Each company is allowed to have up to 500 devices at a given time on public property in Dallas.
• Shared scooters and e-bikes may only be used between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• Riding scooters on sidewalks is prohibited.

A new 311 service request category has also gone live to allow Dallas city officials and members of the public to report issues related to the rental scooters and e-bikes. Dallas public information officer Page Jones Clark said city staff are not available for interviews about rental scooters as of May 24.

City Councilwoman Jaynie Schultz says she doesn’t foresee the scooters affecting District 11 residents “at this time.” Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis doesn’t “think we’ll see many of them in [District] 13 until they reach critical mass, and that could be a while,” she said.

The town of Highland Park adopted an ordinance in 2018 prohibiting commercial scooters and bicycles in its municipality. University Park city ordinance also prohibits the use of motor-assisted scooters, except for on the SMU campus and select streets and sidewalks adjacent to the university.

“Our police department will continue to monitor their use, especially now that rental scooters are available in Dallas,” said Steve Mace, director of communications and marketing for University Park. “Needed changes or additions to the ordinance can always be taken to the city council if necessary.”

Lime and Bird were previously in Dallas. Superpedestrian, on the other hand, is new to the city.

“We’ve worked with the city to design a program that addresses the concerns of the previous pilot like street clutter and tidiness, and we understand the key is getting it right so we’re happy to be patient,” said Kelly Pierce, Lime operations coordinator for Dallas. “This time around, riders, pedestrians, and everyone else can expect a more organized and tidy program that all of Dallas can enjoy.”

Austin Marshburn, senior director of government partnerships for Bird, said if a scooter is brought out of Dallas city lines, it will be inoperable until returned. The same goes for the other two scooter lines.

“One advantage to having a soft launch and some ramp up time to the busy summer is taking the time to start with a smaller service area to make sure our local team is delivering the very highest level of service for riders and non-riders alike,” said Jamie Perkins, director of communications for Superpedestrian.