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Scooters dodge LA city ban, but they aren't out of the woods yet

The popular company "Bird" has flocks of e-scooters like this one all over West LA.
Electric scooter companies like Bird face possible regulation in the city of Los Angeles.
(
KPCC/Caleigh Wells
)

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Listen 0:58
Scooters dodge LA city ban, but they aren't out of the woods yet

The Los Angeles City Council Public Safety Committee voted down a proposed ban on rented electric scooters on Wednesday, but that doesn't mean operators like Bird and Lime are clear to operate them.

City Department of Transportation officials were directed to reaffirm their cease-and-desist letters sent back in June prohibiting the operation of the scooters in L.A. until they are made safe for the public.

The City Council could approve regulations for their operation on Tuesday. Those rules could cover alerts to the operators when a scooter is blocking a sidewalk, sharing rider usage data with the city,  and expanding the scooter operations beyond L.A.'s more affluent neighborhoods. 

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