“It’s not so much of a matter of ‘hey, this might be here,’” Assistant City Manager Dan Hoffman said. “It’s more of when it arrives.”

City officials are one step closer to allowing hundreds of rented electric scooters to traverse the streets of Gainesville.

City commissioners Thursday discussed a plan to implement an eight-month pilot program that will allow companies to launch a dockless scooter program.

Gainesville doesn’t have an electric rental scooter program in the city. The service — which is at least several months away from having the necessary approvals to begin — would also be the first dockless rental program of any kind in the city.

“It’s not so much of a matter of ‘hey, this might be here,’” Assistant City Manager Dan Hoffman said. “It’s more of when it arrives.”

The dockless scooters, not to be confused with mopeds, are similar to the two-wheeled Razor scooters made popular in the early 2000s. The devices would not have designated parking areas and would be found throughout town by using a smartphone app.

In May, representatives for RazorUSA emailed the city inquiring about a permit to launch a new electric scooter service, called “Razor Last Mile.” Razor selected Gainesville as the first city in the country to launch its fleet, though Hoffman said other companies, like Lime, Bird and Spin, have also since reached out.

Hoffman said the city is working with the University of Florida and that all scooters would be restricted to 15 mph. Devices would be treated as bicycles, allowing riders to use bike lanes and sidewalks.

The plan calls for permitting between three to five scooter operators with up to 200 scooters each, though those figures are subject to change based on demand. The phased program will release scooters in increments of 50 with, tentatively, at least three rides per device.

The scooters would be spread out throughout the city to avoid congestion, with some placed in disenfranchised areas. Typically, companies charge $1 to unlock devices and charge riders an additional 15 cents for every minute of use.

Commissioner David Arreola said he is supportive of the pilot program but more details need to be fleshed out before it's implemented.

“I do not believe they should be on major roadways,” he said. “You can tell me whatever you want, it’s not a bicycle. Scooters are not bicycles … Even allowing them to be on bikeways is, I think, kind of defeating the whole purpose of a bike lane.”

Preliminary estimates show the city could charge each company $5,000 per 100 devices and charge an additional $75 fee for the pickup and removal of a device, along with $50-a-day storage fee. The funds generated would be used to hire an employee to oversee the service.

The launch of the scooters, however, poses challenges for the city, as seen in other cities around the country.

Of the 20 million rides amassed by companies Lime and Bird, Hoffman said two fatalities have been reported. Hundreds of injuries have also been reported.

In San Francisco, scooters have been thrown into the trash and lakes. A constituent also complained to an elected official that he had broken his toe after tripping over a 20-pound scooter left in the middle of a sidewalk. City officials have cracked down on the scooter program by issuing fines and stricter regulations, such as banning them on sidewalks.

After months of planning and talking to vendors and other cities, city officials decided an eight-month phased pilot program would alleviate widespread issues, with a possible extension of 20 months.

City officials also expressed interest in launching a dockless bicycle system in June 2019, which could be linked to its existing bike rental program, Zagster, that has several parking stations around town.

Commissioners agreed 5-2, with Arreola and Gigi Simmons in dissent, to have city staff draft an ordinance to allow the scooters. They will vote on the issue at a later date.

“I think this gives us a good step in the right direction. It allows us to test it out,” Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos said. “I do have concerns about creating obstacles on sidewalks and things like that but I think that’s what a pilot program can deal with.”