Are Electric Scooters Coming To Wichita Falls?

Could electric scooters be coming to Wichita Falls?

On Tuesday night, the Wichita Falls City Council met to discuss a variety of different issues, including bids on city property, the fire department budget, and electric scooter rentals.

These electric scooters have been popular in many major cities like Dallas, Houston, and Austin, and may arrive right here in Wichita Falls soon. Here’s how they work. After downloading an app to your smart phone, and paying a small fee to unlock the scooter, you can ride it around town at your leisure. However, these electric scooters, are both loved, and hated by their riders, and governments alike.

While most riders love the freedom, to ride to work, or to explore local shops, and restaurants, some users complain about not being able to leave a certain geographical area. Many local municipalities require that the scooters be geo-locked to a certain area, prohibiting riders from leaving a that part of town.

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Some local governments are unhappy with the clutter that these scooters create. Once a rider arrives at their destination, they usually just drop the scooter, and leave it there until someone comes to either ride the scooter, or charge it up. This creates clutter, with random scooters scattered across the city. Sometimes they are even left in the road, creating a traffic hazard.

Earlier this week, the city council heard a proposal from Terry Floyd, who asked the council to approve an ordinance for these electric scooters. If approved, they would only be able to be used in downtown Wichita Falls. If a rider were to leave downtown, the scooter would automatically shut down, prohibiting the rider from leaving the area.

As a Wichita Falls resident, I enjoy visiting the many different shops, restaurants, and bars, that our city has to offer. I personally hope that this ordinance passes, so that I can hop on one of these scooters, and freely explore all the different attractions that we have downtown.