Constance Farrell can’t be serious when she says “Santa Monica is committed to public safety requirements.” What a joke! The City gave two scooter companies carte blanche to put as many scooters as they want anywhere they want, and the riders freedom to ride as they please, without enforcing any of the rules. They can ride on the sidewalks interfering, and occasionally endangering pedestrians, they ride two on a scooter, kids too young to have driver’s licenses often ride solo alongside their parents, and of course, only a rare rider wears a helmet, which so far, is still required. The City has fallen for the myth that the scooters will reduce car traffic and refuse to enforce the rules, when it is obvious that they are only toys for joy rides or to avoid walking a few blocks.
Other cities including San Francisco and Minneapolis, to name a few, have banned the scooters until rules of their use can be set and the companies pay the appropriate registration fees. Santa Monica let them loose, and won’t start a “trial program” until September instead of trying them first
— Fredric Reichel
