WAILUKU, Hawaii — In an effort to preempt what elsewhere has become a problematic and potentially dangerous trend in alternative transportation, the Maui County Council’s Infrastructure and Transportation Committee unanimously passed on first reading Monday a measure that would prohibit commercial rentals of so-called dockless vehicles.
Unlike Honolulu’s Biki rental bicycles, dockless vehicles — electric or motor-assisted scooters, bicycles and other modes of personal transportation that can be located, accessed and rented remotely — do not need to be picked up and dropped off a docking station.
Commercial dockless vehicle rental systems have spread across the country in big cities and smaller municipalities, drawing praise for promoting clean, non-automotive transportation while also becoming a target of civic ire because they can be left anywhere, cluttering sidewalks and creating a hazard wherever a vandal might choose to pitch one.
Bill 133, proposed by the Maui Department of Management introduced by Council member Tamara Paltin and previously discussed at the committee’s Oct. 3 meeting, would make it illegal to park or abandon dockless vehicles on public property, sidewalks, streets or highways.
“This bill addresses the rapid growth of privately owned and on-demand dockless vehicle systems,” said Sugimura, who chairs the committee. “Commercial short-term rentals of these types of vehicles can create hazards for pedestrians, clutter and an unsafe environment when left undocked.”
“While I wholeheartedly support multimodal transportation options, it’s important that we regulate commercial rentals of e-bikes and e-scooters to require docking stations where someone can rent from and return to,” she said.
At Monday’s hearing, testifier Albert Perez, executive director of the Maui Tomorrow Foundation but speaking as an individual, noted the numerous problems dockless vehicles have caused in other cities and countries, from sidewalks rendered to impassable for those with disabilities to piles of abandoned bikes and scooters dumped in common locations.
“When I read companies have to relocate them, it occurred to me they could relocated to the top of Haleakala, and that could be a problem,” Perez said. “As you know, we have had an issue. If we have unregulated dockless vehicles, dockless bikes, you can just go up there with your phone, scan the QR code and, if you have the app, unlock the vehicle. Unscrupulous bike operators would leave them at the top of the crater road and then we’d have a problem.”
Saman Dias, chair of the Maui Bicycling League, said that while her organization is in full support of multimodal transportation, safety and scale remain major concerns, particularly when considering potential lawsuits the county could face from injured users or those harmed in incidents involving the vehicles.
Maui Police Department Sgt. Gregg Rowe also testified in support of the measure, noting a recent trip to Denver for a conference during which he saw dockless vehicles “all over the place.”
“There was a lady who fell (because) she wasn’t paying attention,” he said. “We’re all about the mobility, but it has to be within reason. As long as there are some docking stations, which there should be, it’s fine. But not having the scooters docked is a hazard.”
Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.
