If you haven’t been thinking about electric scooters lately, well, Metro officials have been. Nashville has narrowed down its finalists for the scooter companies that will be permitted in the city.
Three of nine proposals — those from Bird, Lime, and Spin — will be considered next week by the Transportation Licensing Commission. If approved, they’ll operate under overhauled rules, with each providing up to 500 of the dockless scooters.
At the peak in 2019, Nashville had seven companies deploying just more than 4,000 scooters. But there was a backlash over crashes, unsafe riding and chaos on downtown sidewalks as they piled up at corners. Metro slashed the fleets in half, put temporary rules in place and began writing a new framework.
Companies will now have to prove they are enforcing safety standards, providing accurate ridership data and responding quickly to complaints. Some also got bonus consideration for demonstrating a commitment to equity.
Metro’s review of the scooter proposals is online here.
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