Cincinnati could be the first metropolis within the nation to require third-party legal responsibility insurance coverage for electrical scooter firms. Council handed an ordinance this week regulating firms like Lime and Chicken, which have been within the metropolis for 3 years.
Firms have already got common legal responsibility insurance coverage insurance policies, that are additionally required within the new ordinance. Council member David Mann is anxious about accidents brought on by reckless scooter drivers.
“I believe that they are harmful to pedestrians which might be hit,” Mann mentioned. “And my concern is that if a pedestrian’s hit who would not have medical health insurance, who covers the price of remedy?”
Mann wished the scooter firms to have insurance coverage for $25,000 {dollars} for bodily damage or loss of life of 1 individual in anyone accident, which mirrors the coverage for autos in Ohio. Representatives from each Lime and Chicken informed a council committee insurance coverage firms do not provide this type of plan, however they might make it work with a decrease restrict of $10,000.
“There isn’t any different metropolis that I am conscious of that requires third get together legal responsibility insurance coverage for e-scooter operations,” mentioned Sam Cooper, director of presidency partnerships for Chicken. “So the decrease restrict is one thing we are able to work in the direction of, however the $25,000 restrict will not be one thing that is possible or a product that that we are able to have exist.”
Phil Jones from Lime echoed that drawback.
“No insurance coverage firm was keen to create the product at this stage, simply due to the business being as new as it’s,” Jones mentioned. “And it isn’t one thing that they felt was warranted at this cut-off date.”
In a letter to Mayor John Cranley the day earlier than council’s vote, a Chicken government mentioned they might now not function in Cincinnati if the $25,000 restrict have been imposed.
“E-scooter riders or operator firms shouldn’t be required to buy insurance coverage protection limits on the identical fee as cars,” wrote Clint Johnson, VP for authorized, danger administration, belief and security. “Relative to vehicles, e-scooters have a max velocity that’s lower than a bicycle, weigh a fraction of the quantity, and are designed for just one passenger.”
A model of the ordinance with the $25,000 restrict was first up for a council vote Wednesday; it failed on a 4-4 vote (with Council Member Betsey Sundermann absent). The model with a $10,000 restrict then handed 8-0.
The ordinance additionally requires firms to use for a franchise license, pay an annual $2,500 charge, and a per-ride charge of 25 cents. The businesses must present common experiences on rides and accidents.
In line with a metropolis report launched this week, a tiny fraction of scooter journeys in Cincinnati up to now have included an incident of some sort: 0.02% of all journeys since 2018.
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