No matter whether you love them or hate them, the third scooter-sharing company is coming to Bloomington – its’s called Spin.
The Ford-owned company approached the idea early in January, and formally approached to the city council again in March.
The Parks Board approved an interim operating agreement with Spin last week, and the agreement is the same one Bloomington has in place with Bird and Lime.
Director of Economic and Sustainable Development, Alex Crowley, says the difference is that with Bird and Lime, city council drafted the agreement after they brought scooters to town, and Spin is the first company go through the approval process from the beginning.
Crowley indicates there are other scooter companies likely looking at Bloomington due to the number of students needing quick and affordable transportation.
“We think that the market will automatically decide what the best deployment strategy is. The market might say there’re too many scooter companies or not enough. So, we are trying to set a basic rule of how people can operate, and then the market can figure out if they can sustain business,” he said.
The Bloomington City Council is proposing the permanent regulations for electric scooter use.
As the Director of Public Engagement Mary Catherine Carmichael emphasizes, “public safety is always our first priority.”
According to Crowley, the health networks in town are seeing an increase in certain types of injuries. Even though they are not coding injuries as a “scooter injury”, they believe the cause is scooter-related.
We asked for your thoughts on electric scooters, and you delivered. With that feedback, City Council proposed an ordinance and will hear public comment at the meeting tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers. Read the survey results here: https://t.co/eoTlQnvhJn pic.twitter.com/LqVNCjYlvG
— City of Bloomington, IN (@citybloomington) April 9, 2019
“Indiana state law does not require helmet for motorcycles,” Crowley says. “You do not have to wear a helmet in Indiana if you want to ride (but) we strongly recommend it. (In) other states, you have to wear a helmet.”
The city council is not sure of the date Spin will launch in Bloomington and how many scooters it will bring, but the ordinance is set to become effective on July 1st.
