Want to ride an electric scooter in Wichita at night? You soon might be able to
Wichitans may soon have the opportunity to cruise downtown streets on electric scooters after dark.
Under the current policy, adopted in 2019, scooters can only operate until 9 p.m. or dusk, whichever comes first. The City Council will vote Tuesday on a proposal to remove that curfew.
The change would also require that scooters be equipped with lamps and reflectors, similar to those required on bicycles, to maximize safety while riding at night.
The review of the policy came at the request of Veoride Inc., which operates a fleet of several hundred electric scooters downtown.
“It’s incredibly burdensome for them and confusing for riders because they have to always pick up the [scooters] or make the them inoperable depending on when dusk happens,” City Council member Becky Tuttle said at Friday’s agenda review meeting.
“Past leadership within the WPD wanted to have the curfew but the current police are absolutely fine with not having the curfew,” Tuttle said.
According to data provided by Veoride, only two safety issues were reported from the 59,939 rides taken on Wichita scooters in 2023.
“Both safety reports referenced malfunctioning equipment that the scooter provider was unable to detect during a follow-up inspection,” the agenda report states.
It would be up to the provider to ensure scooters are properly equipped with lamps and reflectors.
Under the city policy, scooters can operate on bike paths and roadways with speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less. Riders must be 18 years or older and no more than two people can ride a scooter at once. No helmet, insurance or driver’s license is required to operate the electric vehicles.
