SFMTA grants Scoot a permit to operate in San Francisco

Scoot will operate up to 1,500 vehicles in San Francisco Credit: Scoot

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has granted mircomobility operator Scoot a permit to operate a shared power scooter share system in San Francisco. Scoot’s permit comes in addition to the two 12-month permits previously granted to Lime and Spin earlier in the year.

“Scooters are a sustainable mode of travel and a complement to Muni and public transit service. The SFMTA’s Powered Scooter Share Program ensures that shared scooter operations support the City’s recovery in a safe, sustainable, and equitable way. We take seriously permittees’ adherence to the permit terms and conditions, which are crafted to ensure private mobility options best contribute to the public welfare of the City,” the SFMTA said.

In June 2021, SFMTA temporarily deferred the decision to grant a permit to Scoot in order to investigate their compliance with the 2019 permit terms and conditions after it claimed that Scoot had been operating with unauthorised and inadequately insured contractors in violation of the 2019 permit program terms.

After taking into consideration this new information, SFMTA staff completed a careful re-evaluation of Scoot’s application, and determined that the company has qualified for a permit to operate.

The initial maximum fleet size the SFMTA has granted to Scoot is 1,500 scooters, which is the same fleet size the operator was granted at the end of the 2019 permit. The SFMTA also granted Lime and Spin each the same maximum fleet size –2,000 scooters—they were allowed at the end of the prior permit period.

As under the 2019 permit, the new permit programme limits the maximum possible citywide fleet size at 10,000. The SFMTA says operators may request fleet size increases in increments of 500 scooters every several months.

According to the transport operator, fleet size increases will be adjudged on compliance with SFMTA-defined metrics and policy outcomes, including those focused on equity, access, and sustainability, as well as adherence to all permit terms and conditions.