LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – For the past month popular electric scooters have been spotted throughout Lafayette and surrounding areas but riders have been operating them without regulations from local government.

The electric scooters have given people living near downtown and the university a very low-cost option for getting back and forth.

But because of the sometime carelessness of people using these scooters, city leaders are doing what they can to ensure everyone’s safety and responsible use of the scooters.

Chances are you’ve seen the rental electric scooters somewhere around the Hub City, and the community appears to be putting them to use.

At the first Lafayette City-Parish council meeting of the new year, officials are considering passing a few laws to regulate the use of these scooters.

Bruce Conque, District 6 representative says, “We’re not going to prohibit them from use on our city streets. However, we will address it in the form of some ordinances that will probably come before the council within the next couple of months.”

This scooter issue is not unique to Lafayette; they’ve popped up in California, North Carolina, even New Orleans.

The council is reviewing how other cities and states have dealt with these Birds landing in their areas.

“Various governments have addressed it by assessing a fee for the use of every scooter saying one dollar per scooter per day. Others have said we don’t want the scooters in our jurisdiction. Others have said we want to establish a geographical boundaries using GPS”, Conque said.

These potential regulations aren’t just Big Brother finding another way into your pocket, but the Downtown Development Authority spent $20,000 last year power washing sidewalks,

“That’s largely because they hadn’t been to pressure wash since they were installed a little over 20 years ago”, said Anita Begnaud, CEO of Downtown Development Authority

But the scooters are now adding to the cost of maintenance for DDA because of the skid marks created when braking.

While LCG considers a few ordinances, state legislators are looking into regulations as well
The regular session doesn’t start until April, so in the case, LCG does pass a law, it will be in place until state laws take effect.