Charlotte to roll out new 'dynamic pricing' plan for e-scooter companies

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Next month, Charlotte plans to start testing new dynamic pricing for electric scooter companies across the city.

City Council received an update on the plan during Monday night’s meeting.

[ALSO READ: City Council plans adopts new safety rules for popular electric scooters]

The idea impacts how much the city charges companies like Lime and Bird for every e-scooter in the city.

Under dynamic pricing, the city could charge companies more or less per scooter, based on whether riders are following safety rules like wearing helmets and whether the scooters are parked safely.

The city doesn't charge scooter companies like Lime and Bird a fee to operate, but other cities across the state, like Raleigh and Greensboro, charge them a fee per scooter or per year up to $500.

But those cities don't reward the companies if their riders follow all the rules. That's something Charlotte wants to do.

Starting in April and continuing for the next three months, the city plans to test out the pilot system to see how successful it is and to determine a permanent pricing plan.

[Councilman worried about dockless scooter safety: 'Someone will die']

The proposed plan is the next step in a series of changes city leaders have made since the scooters came to Charlotte.

In January, new rules went into place for how the scooters could be ridden, capping the speeds to 15 mph, banning two people from riding one scooter and prohibiting scooters from riding on certain busy sidewalks in uptown.

Cox Media Group