New Scooter Regulations to Take Effect This Summer

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Board of Business and Neighborhood Services recently approved several regulations for Shared Mobility Operators, which includes dockless scooters. The regulations limit the number of operators licensed by the city to six, caps the total number of devices each dockless system can have to 1,000 and creates high use and access zones where each operator must place a certain percentage of devices.
The zones were created in partnership with the Department of Metropolitan Development by using data provided by current operators, looking at Bus Rapid Transit lines, and data on areas where there is a greater reliance on non-automobile forms of transportation.
Brian Madison, Director of BNS stated “The main goal of these regulation is to ensure no area of the city is over or under served by dockless shared mobility. The city welcomes scooters but we want to make sure they are all being used and that all residents and visitors have access to them.”
Currently, the majority of scooters are deployed in the downtown district. According to the new regulations, a certain number will be placed outside downtown to better serve the needs of communities with unmet transportation needs.
The regulations will go in effect mid-summer.