Tampa's e-scooter pilot program vendors are ready to take on the city.
The one-year Shared Motorized Scooter Pilot Program was slated to be underway by early April with three scooter operators, but the city recently added a fourth vendor to the mix and had some concerns regarding scooter safety.
The program is now expected to start by the end of this month or in June, Jean Duncan, transportation and stormwater services department director said in an email.
The four vendors selected for the program are:
- Skinny Labs Inc., known as Spin
- Social Bicycles LLC, known as JUMP
- Bird Rides Inc.
- Neutron Holdings Inc., known as Lime, which was added as the fourth vendor
"All four are currently in the process of locating their e-scooter corrals [where the e-scooters will be staged] and getting the necessary ROW permits," Duncan said.
The process will take several weeks and each company will start their program when they are ready with enough corrals in place, she said.
Corral locations may be subject to changes based on usage after receiving an approved right-of-way permit. The city may veto any placement, parking or deployment location at any time for any reason, according to city documents.
Operators can initially deploy up to 600 motorized scooter vehicles at key transit stations, commercial zones and denser residential areas. However, the scooters cannot be staged or used on the Tampa Riverwalk or Bayshore Boulevard.
The operators would pay a $20,000 annual fee and a daily ROW use fee of $1/device/day, which will be billed monthly.
At the end of the period, the city may select one vendor to serve the entire area.
