San Francisco sent cease-and-desist letters to three companies renting electric scooters the city complains have left sidewalks and transit stops blocked when users drop off the devices; the city also said the scooter riders rode the scooters on sidewalks and didn’t have helmets or licenses. The three companies are Bird, LimeBike, and Spin.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera tweeted that San Francisco “is not interested in banning an emerging industry. But companies have a responsibility to ensure that their products are used lawfully and do not create a public nuisance. It is about striking the right balance with safety.”
In early March, District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin introduced legislation that would result in fines for rental scooters that did not use docks to park. The Examiner quoted Bird spokesman Kenneth Baer as saying that Bird had “no immediate plans to launch in San Francisco.”
