Just days following Uber's JUMP e-scooter launch in the city, ride-hailing competitor Lyft is following suite, with the launch of its own e-scooters in Atlanta Friday.
Atlanta is one of the first markets to have Lyft scooters, which are accessible through the Lyft app.
Scooters cost $1 to unlock and an additional 15 cents for each minute ridden. Riders can even reserve scooters ahead of time in the Lyft app.
"We're thrilled to bring Lyft Scooters to Atlanta and provide safe, affordable and sustainable mobility options---all within a single app," Vlad Baskakoy, Lyft Atlanta operations manager, said. "Lyft is committed to a future with cities built around people instead of cars, and the integration of scooters helps to further this movement."
The company said it is working with the City of Atlanta to place docks for riders to park scooters on the streets in areas where there is high demand and near transit stations.
"The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition recognizes the enormous potential electric scooters have to improve mobility and accelerate our push for safer streets for all," Rebecca Serna, executive director of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, said in a statement. "We look forward to working alongside Lyft to support proven street safety interventions like protected bike lanes, which will make our streets safer for riding and our sidewalks safer for walking."
City council members in the City of Atlanta are still scrambling for solutions to the dockless trend that has swept the city. In the latest update, the city’s proposed ordinance would classify e-scooters as shareable dockless mobility devices, which would require companies like Lime and Bird to acquire a $12,000 annual permit for a fleet of 500 and $50 per additional device.
The scooters would have to be parked upright in designated areas, along with other requirements. The Atlanta City Council’s public safety committee is reviewing the ordinance, which the city hopes to adopt sometime early next year. Both Lime and Bird have objected to the proposed cap on 1,000 scooters per company.
