Lime scooter company is getting ahead of another planned "takeover" in Minneapolis Friday night.
The company has actually banned everyone who rode the scooters out on the highway last weekend, and warned others who violated the company's terms of service.
As for Friday night, and another social media call for a "takeover," Lime spokeswoman Kelly Harrop says they will monitor the event closely and issue warnings, fines, and bans to riders who engage in irresponsible riding behavior.
"We understand that Minneapolis residents love to get around on two wheels and we support friends riding together when everyone obeys the rules of the road," Kelly Harrop, Senior Regional Lead of Government Affairs at Lime, said in a statement. "We will be taking action before, during and after the upcoming event in order to remind riders of the need to ride safely and obey the rules of the road or risk being warned, fined, or banned from our platform."
Lime also added a map appearing to their app that showed red “No-Go” zones, where they won't operate, and a yellow zone marked where scooter speed was restricted.
A call on TikTok last week led to hundreds of riders riding scooters through downtown Minneapolis, eventually ending up on Interstate 35W, which is illegal. No one was ticketed last week, but Minneapolis police said after that if it happens again, they will work with the scooter companies to create regulations where the rides can and can't go.
"We are grateful to the tens of thousands of Minneapolis residents who ride Lime safely and responsibly on a regular basis and we want to remind those involved with these takeovers that breaking the rules negatively impacts everyone who relies on shared vehicles to get around," continues the statement from Lime.
Lime is just one of three companies licensed in Minneapolis, including Veo and and Spin.
Minneapolis does have regulations for the scooters, which includes: wear a helmet, yield to pedestrians, ride in the bike lane or with traffic, follow the same traffic laws as bicyclists, and ride as close as safely possible to the right-hand side of the road.
Lime says riders risk being "warned, fined, or banned from our platform" if rules are violated
Lime says riders risk being "warned, fined, or banned from our platform" if rules are violated
