Atlanta is trying to figure out how to collect $255,000 in fines from scooter companies.
The money is owed for scooters that have been impounded.
S.W.E.E.T. officers (the Solid Waste Education Enforcement Team) from the Department of Public Works collect scooters that are illegally parked in a right-of-way.
Scooter operators can pick up the devices. When they do, they’re hit with an invoice. But companies don’t have to pay the invoice to get the scooters back.
A department spokesperson says the City is working on a policy to collect the fines.
“The City of Atlanta Department of Public Works, City Planning and Finance are in the process of forming policy around receiving the impound fees owed by electric scooter companies,” says the spokesperson.
“Since electric scooters and E-bikes are new technology, we are working interdepartmentally to remedy the payment process for the retrieval of the dockless mobility devices which are illegally parked in the right-of-way.”
From April to June, the city impoounded more than 2,000 scooters. During that time, the city confiscates about 50 scooters a day.
