SF scooter problem: City impounds dozens of the two-wheelers

Two Bird scooters parked along Market St. as pedestrians wait at the crosswalk as seen on Mon. April 9, 2018, in San Francisco, Calif. Two Bird scooters parked along Market St. as pedestrians wait at the crosswalk as seen on Mon. April 9, 2018, in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close SF scooter problem: City impounds dozens of the two-wheelers 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

San Francisco’s skirmish over scooters escalated Friday as the city’s Public Works department seized several dozen of the two-wheelers it said were blocking sidewalks and fined the companies that own them in response to public protests.

And the city may not be done, said Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru.

“The public has the right to use the sidewalks,” Nuru said. “We can have nothing obstructing the path of travel.”

On Friday, just a little more than two weeks after three companies deposited hundreds of electric scooters throughout the city, a handful of inspectors swept in and impounded about 66 of them following complaints of blocked sidewalks and building entrances flooded City Hall.

In response, all three firms — Lime, Bird and Spin — vowed to cooperate with the city to find solutions. Rachel Starr, a spokeswoman for Spin, suggested city officials should have called the company before hauling away its scooters.

“We would have loved the opportunity to address this ourselves instead of wasting valuable Public Works’ time and resources,” she said. “Had we been notified by Public Works, we would have quickly dispatched our operations team.”

Kenneth Baer, a spokesman for Bird, said the company would step up efforts to educate riders not to block sidewalks and vowed to cooperate with the city.

“We look forward to engaging with city officials in a fair process to review the reasons for impounding any of our vehicles that have been confiscated,” he said.

Before Friday, the battle over the standup electric scooters, which are rented with an app and can be parked anywhere, had mostly been one of words.

The three firms that rent out the scooters — for $1 plus 15 cents a minute — and those who use them said the devices make it easier to get around town. They say the scooters reduce congestion and will help the city meet its goal of reducing the number of cars crowding the streets.

But city officials and pedestrians complained that users were dumping the scooters in the middle of sidewalks and in front of business entrances, blocking the public rights of way and creating hazards. The City Attorney’s office said it was contemplating legal action, and the Board of Supervisors prepared to regulate the scooters.

On Wednesday, Bird officials released a “breaking news alert” accusing the Board of Supervisors of plotting an emergency ordinance to ban scooters. The board’s leading scooter opponents denied the allegation, saying that they only want to regulate the two-wheelers.

The battle over the scooters started about two weeks ago when Lime, Bird and Spin dropped hundreds of scooters all over the city with heavy concentrations downtown, South of Market and in the Financial District. They were instant hits with people who used them to get from transit hubs to work, to meetings across town or to do a little sightseeing.

But one of their big selling points — that they can be dropped off anywhere — has proved to be one of their biggest problems.

During the city’s sweep, scooters were picked up, placed on trucks and hauled away from the downtown, South Park, Financial District and Mission neighborhoods, all areas where the city had received complaints, said Rachel Gordon, a Public Works spokeswoman.

Nuru, her boss, said the confiscations were meant as a message that the city intends to keep its sidewalks from being strewn with scooters.

“We did a first sweep this morning, and now we’re set up to take individual complaints,” he said. He advised that people who want to complain about a scooter blocking a sidewalk or entrance should call 311.

The companies will be issued notices of violation and be fined a minimum of $125 for each scooter, Gordon said. They can either pay the fine, abate the problem to the department’s satisfaction within 30 days or appeal.

The companies may retrieve the scooters, which are being held at an undisclosed location, as soon as they contact the Public Works Department. But if the scooters are found blocking sidewalks again, they’ll be impounded once more.

“No elected official ordered these,” Gordon said of the sweep. “They were done under the Public Works Code. One of our duties at Public Works is to protect the public right of way, and sidewalk obstruction is something we enforce.”

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, attending a Coastal Commission meeting in Southern California, learned of the department’s sweep from a reporter who called seeking comment.

”Good for them,” he said.

On Monday, a committee of the Board of Supervisors will consider legislation by Peskin that would allow the Municipal Transportation Agency to require permits and regulate the electric shared scooters. It will likely move to the full board on Tuesday. MTA officials could start regulating scooters by mid-May, said Paul Rose, an agency spokesman.

Public Works doesn’t plan any more sweeps, Gordon said. But it does intend to respond to individual complaints, send out inspectors and seize any scooters blocking sidewalks.

“If our inspectors determine a scooter is obstructing the sidewalk or right of way, creating a potential hazard, we will remove it and issue a notice of violation,” she said.

“A business can’t operate with impunity and put the public in potential danger.”

By Friday afternoon, the neighborhoods were once again well-populated with scooters.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan