CINCINNATI — Some riders are thinking twice about getting on electronic scooters because of new rules and a curfew.
Jonathan Ashbury has been riding around downtown Cincinnati on an e-scooter he rented, and in a matter of minutes, he said he’s done with them.
“This isn’t really working out for me,” said Ashbury. “I am apparently in the slow speed zone,” he said.
City rules make it so the scooters automatically slow down on certain streets but Ali Connor wanted to give them a try anyway.
“This is our first time doing it, and we’re gonna see how much fun it is,” said Connor.
Under city rules though, her kids can’t ride because they’re not 18, and you need a driver’s license.
“I mean most people might have it (driver’s license), but if you’re carefree and you try to pack as little as possible, you don’t have that,” said Connor.
The city is adding another rule to that. Starting Friday, the e-scooters will automatically shut down at 6 p.m. and will stay off until 6 a.m.
City leaders posted they agreed to the changes with the companies Bird and Lime Bike because of pedestrian safety concerns, underage riding and criminal activity.
“To make a big rule and say, ‘we’re gonna stop at 6,’ there’s gotta be a better way. That just seems like some person came up with one rule and one reason, and they just went with it instead of thinking like, what else can we do?” said Connor.
While Cincinnati is planning for an e-scooter curfew, other cities, like Beavercreek near Dayton, are considering a rule to keep the scooters off the streets altogether because of safety concerns and e-scooters left abandoned.
A little farther north in Dublin near Columbus, city planners are getting ready to add them to the streets there next week, without a curfew, but with restrictions.
“It will slow down to a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour in those slow zones. We also have some no-ride zones that we’re looking to incorporate,” said Dublin City Planner J.M. Rayburn.
The slow zones are what Ashbury was having trouble with trying to get around on an e-scooter.
“I just came out here with some friends to try and ride around and it’s just not working out,” said Ashbury.
Cincinnati is looking for more people to weigh in on the changes and curfew. Just go to this link to put in your feedback.
