HOUSTON – Houston City Council’s Quality of Life Committee spent Thursday debating whether to ban all electric scooters — rental and privately owned — from Downtown, Midtown, and East Downtown.
The packed meeting focused on safety concerns, rising complaints, property damage, and the lack of existing regulations.
City officials say Houston currently has no ordinances governing scooter operations. There are no speed limits, curfews, vendor rules, or geofencing technology in place.
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Several scooter companies said they chose Houston because of this regulatory gap. But even these operators now support regulations instead of a ban.
“This isn’t a scooter issue. It’s a violence issue,” said a Discovery Green representative. Officials described a growing “culture of lawlessness” linked to scooter use, including vandalism, trespassing, teenage offenders, and violent crime.
“I cannot stress this enough — we do not have a scooter issue, we have a violence issue… they violate not only our property and our buildings, but our people,” the representative said. One park official cited $150,000 in donor funds spent on repairing lawn damage and rising security costs.
Downtown residents shared intense experiences affected by scooter-related chaos.
“We deal with obscenely loud, obnoxious and repeated revving… gang members shooting in the middle of the night. It’s awful. It’s atrocious… I beg you to do something about it,” said one resident.
Another recounted, “My neighbor was shot in the stomach by a kid, 15 years old, operating a scooter… He was in the hospital for 19 days and had 11 surgeries.”
Houston Police Department officials confirmed increased scooter activity tied to juveniles and nighttime incidents, especially around Discovery Green.
“We’ve observed a noticeable increase in juveniles operating scooters during nighttime hours… primarily in the Discovery Green area,” said an HPD captain. Officers said enforcing existing laws is difficult and often temporary.
Many scooter vendors and private riders warned that a total ban would be unjust and ineffective — punishing responsible users for the actions of rogue operators.
“This isn’t a hobby. This is our livelihood… We follow the rules, we invest in safety,” said scooter vendor Ashnell Deleese.
“It’s not the scooters that are the problem: it’s the lack of enforcement and infrastructure… We need regulations in place like speed governors, geo-fencing, make it smarter, not stricter,” said a rider outside City Hall.
Another private rider noted that cities like Atlanta and Washington, D.C., successfully use technology-based regulation to balance safety and mobility.
“The technology exists — geofencing, curfews. I’ve seen it in Atlanta. It works,” the rider said.
No vote was taken during Thursday’s meeting. Several council members expressed concern that a full ban could merely shift problems to other neighborhoods like Montrose or the Heights.
The committee will continue refining the proposed ordinance. Possible outcomes include a ban, tighter regulations for vendors such as permit requirements, geofencing, speed curbs, curfews, or a hybrid model.
Council members plan a final vote in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, officials said they will gather more feedback from residents, vendors, and enforcement agencies before moving forward.
Why this matters:
- Public safety: Residents report gunfire, teenage offenders, and serious injuries tied to scooters.
- Public infrastructure: Parks and sidewalks are being damaged and abused.
- Economic impact: Businesses worry that blanket regulations will displace licensed operators while failing to stop illegal ones.
- Mobility justice: E-scooters are a low-cost transit option for many, but balancing access with safety is central to the debate.
