Kelsey Bradshaw on Austin requiring Geofencing for scooter companies

Rental scooter riders will be automatically slowed down with the use of GPS technology called geofencing when they enter trails that are off-limits to the devices starting Friday, Austin Parks and Recreation Department officials said. Officials with the Parks and Recreation Department, Public Works and the Austin Transportation Department mapped out where geofencing was needed and sent that information to the scooter rental companies, said Amanda Ross, Austin Parks and Recreation Department division manager for natural resources. The companies set up their devices to automatically slow down in the mapped-out areas, she said. Prohibited areas include those that are not part of a city pilot program, which allows scooters and electric bikes on some trails. When riders enter a geofenced trail, their scooters will automatically be slowed down to 8 mph and they will receive a notification on their cellphones that they’ve entered an unauthorized area, officials said. The speed limit for scooters on allowed trails is 10 mph. Electric bikes and scooters have been allowed on the trails along Johnson Creek, Shoal Creek south of 15th Street, Northern Walnut Creek and Southern Walnut Creek since January as part of a city pilot program. More than 9,000 scooters are in use in Austin, according to the city. “As part of the pilot program, we’re also talking about enforcement capabilities and, honestly, we can’t be everywhere at all times,” Ross said. ”(The geofencing) is just a tool to communicate the best locations and most appropriate ways to use them on parkland.” Scooters are not allowed on trails outside of those in the pilot program, while electric bikes can be used along Lady Bird Lake on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail and the Lady Bird Lake boardwalk and on trails that do not have a natural surface, like pavement or decomposed granite. Rental electric bikes also will be slowed to 8 mph on natural soil trails, Ross aid. READ MORE: ‘Scooter is in a tree’: Complaints to Austin 311 highlight safety, threat to trails Scooter users will be able to use roads to get to Zilker Park, for example, but will be slowed if they try to ride across one of the trails near the park, she said. “It’s not that we want to discourage scooter use. If someone wants to ride a scooter to a park and then stay on a park road, they are very much welcome to do so,” Ross said. Geofencing already has been implemented on the University of Texas campus. In March, the university announced that scooters from Bird, Jump, Lime and Lyft would be limited to 8 mph in zones that make up most of its main campus. The speed limit for areas outside of the zones is 15 mph. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices