TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — We're just five days into the e-scooter pilot program here in Tallahassee. And already one company is pulling its scooters off the streets.
Even though the scooters have been pretty popular, the problem happens when these scooters end up on university campuses.
As we told you, the e-scooters aren't allowed on the FSU, FAMU or TCC campuses as part of the agreement with the city.
The city of Tallahassee says there hasn't been a problem, but Lime scooters, one of the five brands available, says it's been having trouble with the "geo-fencing" technology that's supposed to keep the scooters off FSU grounds. Lime has suspended its participation in the program for the time being.
FSU Public Safety tells WTXL that Lime isn't the only scooter company causing traffic on campus, either.
"Every vendor that is participating in this pilot, we have confiscated/collected scooters that have been abandoned on our property, blocking pedestrian ways, creating safety issues on our campus," said David Perry, the FSU Chief of Police.
Lime sent us this statement saying:
"We're in touch with the City and are working on software update that will prevent scooters from operating on FSU's campus. In the interim, as a demonstration of good faith and partnership, we will temporarily pause the scooter program. We hope to be serving Tallahasseans with convenient, affordable and energy efficient transportation options again very soon."
Some people in town say while they love riding, they admit in a lot of ways the e-scooters are a safety hazard just waiting to happen.
Lime is temporarily pausing their e-scooter program in Tallahassee as they work to prevent scooters from operating on FSU's campus.
A spokesperson from Lime told WTXL in an emailed statement that, "We're in touch with the City and are working on software update that will prevent scooters from operating on FSU's campus." They say the issue involves the geofence that was set around FSU's campus.
In the meantime, "as a demonstration of good faith and partnership," the company has temporarily paused the scooter program.
On Monday, the City of Tallahassee, along with five different rideshare companies like VeoRide, Spin, Gotcha, Bird and Lime, launched a pilot program with about 1,000 E-Scooters hitting city streets, allowing drivers to have another option when it comes to transportation.
As part of the agreement, the scooters are not permitted on FAMU, TCC, or FSU campuses.
"We hope to be serving Tallahasseans with convenient, affordable and energy efficient transportation options again very soon," the spokesperson wrote in the statement.
