LCG & Scooter Companies Come To Agreement (UPDATED)
UPDATE: A plan that includes a pause in operations has been reached between Mayor-President Joel Robideaux and company representatives from Bird and Lime scooter companies as it relates to the scooters that have been used in Lafayette. The pause is to allow the time needed to address current state law.
"During this pause in operations, the Robideaux administration, in collaboration with the scooter companies, will create a local framework in which safety, permitting, logistics, rules of operation and other regulations are put into place," says the LCG press release. "The pause is temporary and will last only as long as needed to revise the current state law and pass a local ordinance."
"Bird is very proud to be part of the Lafayette community, and we want to thank our riders and chargers for embracing our environmentally friendly option. We are so grateful for the support we have received and the relationships we have built thus far. Throughout this time, Bird has been working closely with Mayor Robideaux and other Lafayette city officials to determine an appropriate next step for our service. We have decided to remove our vehicles and temporarily pause our service until a consensus can be reached with the city. We remain committed to serving Lafayette, and will therefore continue working in close collaboration with city officials while we implement this pause. Bird hopes to return to the City of Lafayette in the near future,” said Sam Reed, Government Partnerships at Bird.
“Since launching, we’ve been impressed with how quickly and positively the Lafayette community has embraced scooters for transportation. We appreciate the decision by Lafayette to come to us and offer a voluntary pause and pathway to work together to develop a long-term scooter share program that best serves the needs of the city's 125,000+ residents," said Todd O’Boyle, Government Relations for Lime.
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Lafayette City Parish Mayor-President Joel Robideaux is asking for help from the two scooter companies that have scooters on city streets.
Robideaux has suggested to both of the companies to join him in having a press conference to say they will work together to pull the scooters from city streets until state law can catch up to the times.
The Mayor-President says current state law doesn't have a mechanism for to allow the scooters to be cruising city streets.
So for the time being, the scooters have to be taken from city streets. Robideaux is asking both companies, Lime and Bird, to voluntary remove their scooters from Lafayette streets.
The issue will be discussed at tonight's council meeting.