[sirkingwilliam]

LYFT TO BECOME 7th COMPANY TO DEPLOY E-SCOOTERS IN SAN ANTONIO

Days after San Antonio City Council updated its scooter regulations, another major operator is set to launch.

Following close behind rival ride-hailing company Uber, Lyft will release its dockless electric scooters on Wednesday. The company is permitted to operate as many as 2,000 scooters in the city. Lyft applied last month for a permit to participate in the City of San Antonio’s six-month pilot program to test regulations for the nascent dockless vehicle industry – just before the City shut the door on new applicants.

The City is now up to 14,100 permitted dockless vehicles – 12,100 scooters and 2,000 e-bikes – and seven authorized operators: Bird, Lime, Razor, Blue Duck Scooters, Uber-owned Jump, Lyft, and Spin. San Francisco-based Spin has a permit for 500 scooters but has yet to announce a launch date.

Lyft will hold a press conference Wednesday to kick off its San Antonio scooter operations and unveil scooter docking stations. In a January interview with TechCrunch, Lyft officials said riders would not be required to dock the scooters after use.

The City has installed several dockless vehicle parking zones in the urban core. It recommends, but does not mandate, users park their scooters at the end of their ride in one of the chalk-outlined designated areas on the sidewalk, but only a handful of zones have been created in high-traffic areas in downtown San Antonio. In areas where the sidewalk is too narrow to accommodate sidewalk parking zones, City staff plans to create several so-called parking corrals for e-scooters and e-bikes – located on the street in place of on-street parking spots.