Dallas Council Members Defend Scooter Shutdown

75756A5E-120A-4932-810C-2FD980DB785E

Two members of the Dallas City Council are defending the decision by the city's Transportation Department Director to order electric scooter rental companies to deactivate their scooters today.

Transportation Director Mike Rogers made that announcement earlier this week after consulting with the Dallas Police Department. The scooters will have to cease operation today and companies will have to remove them from city streets by Friday, September 4th.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson posted a message on Twitter following the announcement questioning how the city staff could take that action without direction from the City Council. 

"I don’t understand how the City can essentially suspend an ordinance without City Council action," the Mayor wrote. "We should discuss it ASAP. We may reach the same conclusion, but we voted in March to keep scooters."

I was surprised by this decision. I found out about it when you all did, and I don’t understand how the City can essentially suspend an ordinance without City Council action.We should discuss it ASAP. We may reach the same conclusion, but we voted in March to keep scooters. https://t.co/hX0v8n10A4

— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) September 1, 2020

Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano issued a statement late Tuesday noting that the city's dockless scooter ordinance had a provision allowing the Transportation Department Director to take action during an emergency.

"It is within the Transportation Director’s rights and responsibilities to pause the scooter program for public safety reasons without council action under the dockless vehicle ordinance, section 43-169," he wrote. "This is not the first time the Director of Transportation has temporarily halted scooter operations. For example, when surface contact was thought to contribute to the spread of COVID-19, and again during civil unrest when scooters were weaponized before the downtown curfew went into effect, the Transportation Director temporarily suspended scooter operations."

Medrano and Council Member David Blewitt say the scooters have recently been operated in an unsafe fashion and after their designated shut-down hours in downtown and Deep Ellum.