E-scooters are on the rise again in Florida, and not just the shared scooters we're used to
No matter what you ride or drive, it’s hard to escape the news that gas prices have been rising over the last few months. As expected, many people have been looking for other ways to get around and e-scooters have been the solution for many.
Many riders have turned to electric scooters for the short distance getting to a public transit stop, or their “first and last mile challenge,” according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“Scooters and bikes fill that gap,” said Steven Abrams, the executive director of Tri-Rail. “It is popular because people can access between cities and then be able to get to their ultimate destination using their bike or scooter.”
E-scooters, along with bicycles, make sense to travel the short distances that most of us take each day. Over half of the daily vehicle trips in the US are less than 3 miles, and with the growing mass transit options like Brightline and Tri Rail, even the longer commutes are being ditched for these cheaper options.
As with many cities around the world, e-scooters were commonly seen on the roads and sidewalks of South Florida before the pandemic hit. At the time, most were rented from dockless sharing apps like Lime and Bird. Once the pandemic hit, those numbers dropped.
While dockless scooter sharing isn’t back to pre-pandemic numbers, privately owned e-scooter riding is gaining throughout Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and West Palm Beach. Miami-based e-scooter dealer Fluidfreeride reported that its sales in March doubled from those in February of this year, according to Electrek, and sales were up 70% compared with March of 2021.
While dockless sharing companies were required to ensure that their e-scooters complied with the laws and regulations set down by the state and cities, the same isn’t said for e-scooter manufacturers. That can become a problem for privately owned scooters and the owners who might know their rights and obligations when they hit the road.
Where to e-scooters stand in Florida?
E-scooters and micromobility were finally addressed by the Florida Legislature in 2019 when it passed House Bill 453. That change defined what would be treated as a lawful e-scooter in Florida and defined what micromobility would mean under the law.
For example, an e-scooter, or “motorized scooter” in the law, is defined as:
“any vehicle or micromobility device that is powered by a motor with or without a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, which is designed to travel on not more than three wheels, and which is not capable or propelling the vehicle at a speed greater than 20 miles per hour on level ground.”
A micromobility device is defined as:
“any motorized transportation device motorized transportation device made available for private use by reservation through an online application, website, or software for point-to-point trips and which is not capable of traveling at a speed greater than 20 miles per hour on level ground.”
Micromobility devices include e-scooters and bicycles.
So under Florida law a scooter, which can have up to three wheels, includes the self-balancing one-wheel scooters. Also included are scooters that have a seat that can be attached. A driver’s license and insurance aren’t required and the device doesn’t need to be registered with the state.
An e-scooter rider can ride in the road or bicycle lane (if there is one) or keep riding on the sidewalk. Helmets are not required unless the rider is under the age of 16 (though many cities have passed ordinances restricting riders under 16).
One problem, though, is speed. A street legal e-scooter in Florida is one that cannot exceed 20 mph (don’t get me started with why there is a cap on speed for scooters and not for cars). With dockless sharing scooters this wasn’t an issue since the companies that rented them all made sure the scooters complied with the law or local ordinances regarding speed.
But as people can buy their own from anywhere on the internet, scooters are showing up on the roads that don’t comply with Florida law. Some e-scooters on the market can hit speeds of 50-60 mph, with some racing scooters going as fast as 80. Traveling at these speeds is not only dangerous but risks legal protections they’d have if they were riding street legal scooters. For example, in the event of a crash with a car, riding a scooter that isn’t street legal jeopardizes certain insurance coverages.
Another chef in the kitchen
Another important consideration for e-scooter owners concerns the various ordinances of the cities and towns they are in. The 2019 change in the law allows local governments to regulate the operation of e-scooters on their streets, highways, sidewalks and sidewalk areas in their jurisdiction. The same has applied to bicycles. So while state law says an e-scooter rider can ride on the road or sidewalk, a city can pass an ordinance restricting those same riders from their streets or sidewalks.
The Town of Juno Beach, for example, passed an ordinance in December 2019 that restricted e-scooters from stopping or parking at certain places that cars were restricted from, like bicycle lanes and sidewalks. That same ordinance allowed police to “tow” an e-scooter improperly parked. This was clearly a response to dockless shared scooters being left all around town.
Some cities like Tallahassee have “slow zones” that limit the speed to 6 mph. Other cities, like Orlando, have ordinances that prevent scooters from riding on sidewalks if there is a sign prohibiting it and requiring parking in certain designated areas. Many of the dockless scooter companies have used geofencing to ensure their scooter riders comply with the local government ordinances, but that technology isn’t present on the privately owned scooters.
These ordinances, though, were passed when dockless shared scooter companies made up the primary owners of scooters in town. With more privately owned scooters hitting the streets, be sure to see more action from local governments in response.
Back to the drawing board
The important takeaway here is that back when dockless scooter sharing was taking off in Florida, the companies worked with government leaders to ensure their shared scooters complied with the laws of the state and municipalities. As private ownership surpasses these shared scooters, riders can’t assume any scooter they buy is street legal and anywhere they park will be ok. Local governments will no doubt be back to the drawing board addressing spikes in privately owned scooters and the issues that they thought they solved just a few years ago.