Editor's note: This story has been edited to reflect which dockless mobility startups were granted permits with the City of Atlanta to operate and which startups applied but were denied permits.
With the closure of businesses, schools and events across Atlanta, it came as no surprise when city officials ordered all dockless e-scooters and vehicles to vacate the streets in March.
But according to a ordinance adopted by the Atlanta City Council in March, those scooters could be hitting the streets by next week. And Atlantans will only have the chance to pick from four companies.
Bird, Helbiz, Spin and Veoride won annual permits with the city. Atlanta will have a total of 2,000 stand-up scooters, 500 sit-down scooters and 500 e-bikes.
According to the new ordinance, permits given to shareable dockless mobility devices will go into effect on July 1 and last through June 30, 2021. All permit holders must adhere to additional administrative regulations.
The following dockless startups applied for permits:
Bird: 500 scooters
Boaz: 500 sit-down scooters
Bolt: 500 scooters
Helbiz: 500 scooters, 500 e-bikes
Link: 500 scooters
Spin: 500 scooters
VeoRide: 500 scooters, 500 sit-down scooters
Wheels: 500 sit-down scooters
In addition to the annual permits, a handful of companies were given temporary sub-permits, valid from June 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020, that are "subject to ongoing administrative adjustments per the conditions of the Temporary Sub-Permits."
City documents state one option from Spin was disqualified during the initial permit review; Spin's electric bicycle was not issued a permit due to concerns about safety, the bike weighing 116 pounds and lack of experience with the bike.
"The decision was made that if Spin were to receive a permit, the City would continue to coordinate with Spin to better understand the safety implications of this novel device and determine its appropriateness as part of the program. This analysis did not impact the way in which the Spin stand-up scooter application was scored," a city document states.
Whether these scooter companies will choose to deploy their fleets on the streets of Atlanta while coronavirus cases steadily increase is another question. The dockless mobility industry was hit especially hard during the pandemic. In Bird's headquartered city Santa Monica there was a 90% decline in ridership and an 84% drop in deployed scooters since March.
The news comes on the heels of Curiosity Lab's announcement of testing teleoperated scooters in Peachtree Corners on the lab's test track.
