Atlantans will soon be able to ride shared scooters and e-bikes until 2 a.m. after City Council members supported an hours extension on Monday.
In 2022, Atlanta imposed a midnight curfew on shared scooters that are a popular mode of transportation for residents across the city. Before that in 2019, the freeze on scooters was set even earlier at 9 p.m. Rides can resume daily at 4 a.m.
Citing a heavy reliance on the transportation method by nightlife workers and other late-night commuters, Atlanta City Council opted to extend scooter and e-bike availability through a resolution requesting the Atlanta Department of Transportation work with operators to add two hours of riding time.
The legislation passed in a 12-1 vote, with councilman Howard Shook being the only vote against extending the hours. The decision also had pushback from police.
Law enforcement officials urged council members to hold the legislation last week during the council’s Transportation Committee meeting, claiming that the two-wheeled devices are linked to crimes committed in the early hours of the morning.
“We do have people that use those scooters, once it becomes dark, to commit crimes,” Assistant Police Chief Carven Tyus said.
But council members argued that the same could be said about cars and other vehicles.
“I think we’re playing favorites here on transportation modes that I think is unfair to residents and to workers who need to get around at night,” Council member Amir Farokhi said. “When we’re not being as discriminatory against other modes of transit that are equally vulnerable or equally dangerous.”
According to data from the Atlanta Department of Transportation, only 15% of scooter rides in 2023 and 2024 happened between 9 p.m. and midnight.
Despite the curfew already in place, Bird and Lime apps were opened 83,000 times during off hours in this year, ATLDOT reported to council members, which the department said demonstrates demand for extended hours of operation.
Most MARTA bus routes also end between midnight and 1 a.m.
When council members passed early iterations of the scooter curfew the city was grappling with a string of scooter-related fatalities.
In 2023, there was one fatality around 10 p.m. near the Arts Center MARTA Station. In 2024, there was one fatality just before 6 p.m. at 16th Street and Spring Street, according to the transportation department.
There were four other serious injuries involving scooters during those two years.
Council member Antonio Lewis, who sponsored the legislation, said that other similar-sized cities — including Los Angeles, Austin, Denver and Seattle — don’t have a curfew for shared scooters and e-bikes at all.
“You’re saying that we can’t enforce laws between those two hours?” he said.
Atlanta City Council also recently passed legislation to extend the city’s contract with Lime and Bird for another year. The Department of Transportation reported that there were over 2.1 million shared “micro-mobility” rides in 2023 — the highest ridership levels for shared bikes and scooters since the pandemic.
Council members also criticized Atlanta police for failing to enforce scooter rules like riders using sidewalks to circumvent traffic or residents riding scooters while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“I’m curious how many encounters APD has with scooters, because the input I get from residents is very little,” Farokhi said.
