Between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., people in Bloomington hoping to use e-scooters like Lime and Veo will get a notification on the apps telling them the service is unavailable.
Both companies said they are complying Bloomington's announcement that all scooter companies operating locally should limit their hours.
Read: Bloomington to limit e-scooter operating hours beginning Thursday
The city’s decision comes after two IU students died in August and September while using e-scooters.
Alex Keating, the head of policy and partnerships with Veo, said the company is saddened by the deaths but thinks there are better ways to protect users.
“Ultimately it comes down to working with the city to make the infrastructure safer for private bicycle and scooter riders and for all users of the right of way,” Keating said.
Lime’s Director of Government and Community Relations Lee Foley also said advancements to infrastructure are key to preventing further deaths and injuries that involve traffic violence.
“We like to see cities go further in protecting both pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter riders with a stronger infrastructure to protect these vulnerable users,” Foley said.
Foley added the city’s implementation of protected bike lanes for cyclists and users of transit like scooters is significant.
Read: 7-Line protected bike lane officially opens Wednesday
When riders open the apps during restricted hours, a notification pops telling them when they can start using e-scooters again.
Keating said it's important not to overlook the importance of overnight ridership and transit options.
"It's not a trivial thing to just shut off a service like this, right?" he said. "People do rely on these options to get around. So just sort of unplugging the service a certain power is, is really problematic in a lot of ways.”
Foley voiced the same concern. He said a majority of trips don't happen late at night, but his company doesn't want customers to be stranded if that was a mode of transportation they relied on before.
Data taken in Austin showed 55 percent of e-scooter injuries took place on the street and 33 percent took place on the sidewalk. Austin’s data also showed nearly 40 percent of e-scooter injuries take place between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
