SAN ANTONIO – You may see a lot fewer scooters in San Antonio if a downtown city department has its way.
John Jacks, director of Center City Development and Operations, on Monday made recommendations regarding scooters to the City Council Transportation Committee.
Currently, there are more than 16,000 dockless scooter permits issued for the San Antonio area, but that number may go down significantly.
Jacks said the department is looking into limiting the number of scooters on the streets by reducing the number of dockless vehicle permits to 5,000.
He also recommended limiting the dockless vehicle companies from six to three.
Jacks said the recommendations will reduce scooter clutter and will protect sensitive areas like the River Walk and Alamo Plaza.
Another recommendation is that existing dockless vehicle permits be extended into Sept. 30, with a 50 percent reduction for the companies currently permitted for more than 1,000 vehicles.
"We think by reducing down to three companies, that competition for that space will be less," Jacks said. "There will be less clutter of our sidewalks, and also just operationally going to be easier to work with three companies when there are problems instead of six companies."
Jacks reported to the transportation committee that since the curfew hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. was instituted earlier this year, the number of scooter-related crashes have decreased.
He said the city was averaging about 30 scooter-related crashes per month before the curfew, and for the first part of April, only four accidents involving scooters were reported.
The recommendations will be presented at City Council B Session on May 15.