CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Do people need to use electric scooters in the wee hours of the morning? Chicago officials are talking about it.
Members of a Chicago City Council committee on Wednesday endorsed an ordinance that would allow the use of electric scooters from midnight to 5 a.m.
Those are the only hours when e-scooters cannot be used in Chicago.
Officials with Lime and Spin---the only rental companies operating in Chicago outside downtown expect the change to increase ridership. The revised ordinance lifts a cap on the number of firms that could be licensed.
E-scooters from Divvy, which is part of Lyft, are currently available to rent downtown through a contract with the Chicago Department of Transportation and is not affected by the proposed licensing changes, a city official told the committee.
Electric scooters were introduced in Chicago in two pilot programs in 2019 and 2020 and became a permanent fixture in 2021.
Now, the proposed ordinance rolls on to the full city council.
The Chicago-Sun Times Wire contributed to this report.
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