Curfew shortened in Atlanta for e-scooters, e-bikes

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Five years after the City of Atlanta imposed an overnight curfew on electric scooters and bikes, restrictions have rolled back.

Back in November, the Atlanta City Council voted to cut down the curfew to just two hours, meaning that e-scooters and e-bikes are now blocked off from being rented between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

Previously, the curfew prevented rides from midnight until 4 a.m.

On Saturday evening, Allen Gordon zipped around the Atlanta Beltline on an electric scooter. He reflected on how micromobility has grown throughout the city.

“You can’t come into Atlanta without seeing a scooter,” he said. “I’d say it’s a pretty big scooter city.”

Back in 2019, the original curfew was put in place by Atlanta leaders after a surge in deadly scooter accidents.

Gordon said the newly reduced restrictions provide practical options for overnight commuters.

“I think it would help people get home safer, from a crime perspective,” he said. “The less you’re on foot, the less susceptible you are to person-to-person crime.”

Gordon, however, said he believes the cut-down curfew could bring challenges.

“It might not be so safe, from a crash-safety sort of perspective,” he said.

Skylar Pocock and Farida Igbadume were walking within the Krog District on Saturday. Both women raised concerns about a potential increase of intoxicated riders.

“I can see where that would be a bad idea, for sure, for club and bargoers,” Pocock said.

Igbadume shared a similar thought about people scootering or biking under the influence of alcohol.

“If it’s there and people know that the time constraint isn’t what it used to be, it’s just easy to just get on one, especially because they’re everywhere,” she said.

Atlanta News First reached out to Lime, which operates a substantial fleet of e-scooters and e-bikes in Atlanta.

Carol Antunez, the company’s senior manager of government relations, said these reduced restrictions will help hospitality and healthcare workers.

“This was a big deal to many of our riders who need that first and last mile connection on their way to work or school during less traditional hours,” she said. “Our service is widely popular with residents and visitors across industries.”

Lime reported record ridership numbers in Atlanta this year. The company is on pace for 1.7 million rides in 2024, a 44% increase from 2023.

Bird — which also operates hundreds of electric scooters in Atlanta — echoed a similar sentiment. Adam Davis, the company’s principal government partnership manager, emphasized the expanded access to late-night mobility.

“By allowing two additional hours of operation each night, this provides residents and visitors with safer, more reliable, non-car mobility options outside traditional commute hours,” he said.

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