Scooter and bike rentals are back on the streets of Dallas. Here’s how it would be different

Shared scooters and bikes going back to the streets of Dallas.

This is the result over two years of planning after before 10,000 shared vehicles on the street turned out to be a nuisance for the city.

Was shared bikes in 2017 and 2018then shared scooters from 2018 to 2020 before the city ordered their removal.

Lime is now one of the three providers selected by the city of Dallas provide a smaller fleet of shared scooters and bicycles. Each supplier will only have 500 for now.

“Yes, there were some problems. We have learned a lot from the previous pilot program,” Lime Dallas operations manager Kelly Pierce said.

The new Lime scooters are better than before. They have a lower center of gravity for a more stable ride. They have better brakes and suspension like a mountain bike to handle bumps.

“We have done a lot of research. We designed everything ourselves,” Pierce said.

For those who prefer sedentary riding, Lime will offer 50 bikes.

Both bikes and scooters have a top speed of 20 mph and 10 in slow zones. They are programmed to stop if riders try to take them somewhere they don’t belong.

In the past, some scooter drivers have been seen on Dallas freeways.

“Now it will be impossible. With the latest technologies that we are currently implementing in geofences, both on the device and in the back end, you will not be able to use them in certain zones,” Pierce said.

Informing riders about the rules is another requirement of the new so-called “seamless vehicle.”

Teaching rules, such as pavement bans, requires safety training on the smartphone app that drivers use to make their trips.

The city is creating parking zones similar to the one Deep Ellum already has.

To promote fairness, firms will need to park some of their equipment in underserved areas that have previously been neglected.

The city predicted the launch of the new service in February, but now, in March, it is still not quite ready to launch.

“We will launch the program in the coming weeks and we are working with the city of Dallas to make sure the program is successful from day one,” Pierce said.

Lime has a warehouse in Dallas full of equipment ready to go.

Two other providers, Bird and Superpedestrian, did not respond to requests to showcase their new products.

ONLINE: Learn more about the city program Here.