City Urges Residents to Complete Survey on Scooters to Inform Development of Ordinance

Bloomington, Ind. - As it develops an ordinance regulating the use of rentable electric scooters, the City of Bloomington is encouraging residents to share their feedback about the vehicles in an online survey, available at https://goo.gl/forms/iBPSCIsZx1pioSwr1 or on the City’s scooter guidelines page.  Residents who have used the scooters and those who have not may complete the questionnaire, which seeks to gauge opinion about the content and scope of such an ordinance, including specifications about parking and use of the vehicles, expectations of the rental companies, the creation of dedicated parking areas, and a limit on the total number of scooters in operation. Responses are requested by March 7.  

In addition to the resident survey, the City is seeking input about the use of rentable e-scooters in Bloomington from a number of other stakeholders including the medical community, the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission, City Council, Indiana University students, and the e-scooter rental companies themselves. A 60-second survey primarily targeting students who ride scooters is available at https://goo.gl/forms/XuXC5xxpQBjEHPVx2, or may be accessed at the Indiana Daily Student website.  Responses are being collected March 1- 7.  

Along with stakeholder feedback, responses to both surveys will inform the draft ordinance being presented to City Council March 8 and scheduled for consideration at council meetings March 20, 27 and April 3, with public comment accepted March 27 and April 3. A vote on an ordinance is expected at the April 3 meeting. These meetings are regular council sessions beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers located in City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street.

“Like many cities around the country over the last year, Bloomington has taken an active approach to assimilating this new and untested mobility option into our transportation network,” said Mayor John Hamilton. “As promising as scooters might be in terms of getting around town without using cars, they have raised real concerns because of the risks they pose. We’ve been working with the companies, reaching out for expertise, and engaging with our community to develop policy around this new technology that works for Bloomington.”

Two companies began operating electric scooter rental services in Bloomington in September 2018. In November, the City of Bloomington entered into an Interim Operating Agreement with Bird Rides, Inc. and Neutron Holdings, Inc. DBA Lime, that established expectations for companies to meet in order to continue using the City’s parks and right-of-way to operate their business. Adoption of municipal ordinance regulating the use of e-scooters in Bloomington would supersede the Interim Operating Agreement.  A link to the resident survey along with current guidelines for using e-scooters in Bloomington are available at https://bloomington.in.gov/transportation/scooters.


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