We told you HERE in April that scooters probably weren’t coming to Orlando any time soon but we are (tentatively) happy to say that the imaginary scooter timeline seems to have sped up.

The City of Orlando is poised to pass a new Motorized Scooters Pilot Program ordinance that will allow companies to set free up to 200 scooters in city limits, but with plenty of handicaps.

The draft ordinance includes restrictions like:

  • Companies will be capped at 200 scooters in city limits at any time. They must launch with no more than 100 motorized scooters in the first two weeks of the pilot with no more than 50 scooters more released each week following.
  • Companies can only stage 70 percent of their fleet in the CRA boundary downtown, with the remaining portion to be distributed in the surrounding districts – but not any City of Orlando Historic Districts.
  • The initial application fee for the permit requires a non-refundable $5,000 application and licensing fee.
  • The wheels must be at least 10-inches in diameter.
  • Scooters cannot travel above 10 mph.
  • Companies must provide real-time or semi-real time data to the City of Orlando as a condition of their permit.
  • Companies will have to pick up their toys on Orange Avenue between South and Robinson Streets by 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings to make way for late-night bar-goers.
  • Companies must host safety classes on a regular basis.
  • The City of Orlando is considering installing a tithe on bike rentals in the amount of 25 cents per ride to pay for new scooter and bike infrastructure. The fee is expected to be estimated on usage data each month.

The scooters will be allowed to operate on both sidewalks and in the streets.

Lime has steadily been phasing out their bike operations across the nation and replacing them with scooters which are markedly cheaper to maintain but still rent for the same fee; the fee changes from city to city but it costs $1 to unlock a bike in Orlando and 15 cents every minute after.

The ordinance is scheduled to go before City Council in October with a followup reading later in the month. It’s expected to pass and come into effect as early as November for early applications with scooters zooming down our brick streets in early 2020.

The City of Orlando expects to see roughly 30,000 scooter trips a month.

Read the full ordinance below.

Brendan O'Connor

Editor in Chief of Bungalower.com

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  1. I don’t want to sound like get off my lawn guy, but here in Tampa the scooters have become a real nuisance. The main issue is that riders leave them blocking sidewalks, driveways, business entrances, etc.. They sometimes are seen taking up entire parking spaces. I grew up in Orlando and would hate to see my hometown have the same problem Tampenos are experience with the “invasion” of these loosely regulated substitutes for legitimate transit.