San Diego police were out in force Monday, cracking down on unsuspecting scooter scofflaws.
"He (the officer) just pulled up and walked in front of us and said, 'You’re not supposed to be riding these on the sidewalk.' So now we know," said Caleb Hall, who was hit with a $150 scooter ticket.
Hall said he's new to town and didn't know the dockless scooters were outlawed on sidewalks — even though they all have warning stickers.
"We could have read the rules — I don’t really care," Hall said. "I would have liked a warning but I didn’t know anything about it. So it’s a consequence of not being informed."
Another family was ticketed after their kids were seen riding scooters. Officers said riders have to be at least 15-and-a-half years old and have a permit or drivers license. The tourist who got the ticket said he was not aware of the rule.
Anthony Dazhan is another tourist who said he wishes scooter companies made the rules more clear.
"How do you really enforce that — or communicate it over to someone intelligently?" said Dazhan who spoke to a KPBS reporter just before renting a scooter. "If it’s just in some fine print — I’m not going to read it...there’s not a lot of information here telling me where I’m supposed to park it or do with it."
The enforcement Monday comes as San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry is calling for a temporary ban on dockless scooters. She says the scooters are safety hazards and the city's current regulations are too loose.
But at this point, Bry doesn't seem to have much support from her council colleagues for a moratorium. Councilman Chis Cate said, “absolutely not,” and Councilman Scott Sherman said, “hell no," when asked whether they supported Bry's measure. Both said a ban is premature given that new limits on scooters just went into effect this month.
Councilwoman Jen Campbell says she supports a ban, but only on boardwalks. The rest of the council either wouldn’t comment or did not respond.
RELATED: City Council Approves Regulations For Dockless Scooters, Bikes
"We believe the new regulations allow the industry to evolve responsibly and gives the city the power to hold operators accountable by revoking permits for those that don’t follow the rules," said a spokeswoman for San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer in an emailed statement.
Two popular scooter companies — Lime and Bird — said a temporary ban would punish users.
"With over 3 million trips taken by riders across San Diego, a moratorium will only harm those who have come to rely on scooters every day as a greener, more affordable way to move around their city," said a Lime spokesperson in an email. "Lime continues to work closely with the City of San Diego and local community partners to ensure a safe and responsible environment for riders and non-riders alike."
