DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- A company based in San Francisco hopes to gain approval from the City of Dallas to bring electronic scooters to the city. Dallas banned scooters last year after complaints about riders not following public safety guidelines or following city ordinances.
Spin, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company based in San Francisco, operates electronic scooters in 70 cities and college campuses. The company showcased its scooters outside Dallas City Hall Thursday.
"Our record speaks for itself in other cities," says Spin's Alex April. "We can integrate that with the City of Dallas to create a sustainable, responsible, long-term program."
April says Spin's scooters are equipped with cameras that will issue warnings if the scooter is driven on a sidewalk or in the middle of a street instead of a bicycle lane. She says Spin would also work with the City of Dallas and could limit hours to prevent late-night trips.
"We also have features in the Spin app, tests to determine if someone is in a safe mental state to be able to ride the scooters. We have had concerns about late nights, as well," April says. "We want people on the scooters. We want folks to have helmets. We want to make sure people are riding the scooters in a safe way."
The other city Spin operates in Texas is San Marcos and on the campus of Texas State University. April says San Francisco has allowed Spin to expand its fleet twice in that city.
"The cities in which we operate, we are really proud of the high level of compliance we maintain," she says.
April says Spin focuses on college campuses and cities trying to help people move around small areas or reach a train or bus stop near their home or work.
"First mile, last mile is something we're definitely concentrated on," she says.
Spin says it shares usage data with cities, and that information could help Dallas plan areas where additional bike lanes, sidewalks or police presence could be used.
The City of Dallas has not given a timeline when it might make a decision.